John H. DeWitt Jr. (February 20, 1906 – January 25, 1999) was an American pioneer in radio broadcasting,

radar astronomy Radar astronomy is a technique of observing nearby astronomical objects by reflecting radio waves or microwaves off target objects and analyzing their reflections. Radar astronomy differs from ''radio astronomy'' in that the latter is a passive ob ...

and

photometry Photometry can refer to: * Photometry (optics), the science of measurement of visible light in terms of its perceived brightness to human vision * Photometry (astronomy), the measurement of the flux or intensity of an astronomical object's electrom ...

. He observed the first successful reception of radio echoes off the moon on January 10, 1946, as part of

Project Diana Project Diana, named for the Roman moon goddess Diana, was an experimental project of the US Army Signal Corps in 1946 to bounce radar signals off the Moon and receive the reflected signals. This was the first experiment in radar astronomy an ...

Early life

John Hibbett DeWitt Jr. was born February 20, 1906, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, the son of judge John Hibbett DeWitt. He displayed an early interest in electrical engineering, specifically radio technology. He became an

amateur radio operator An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators ...

in 1921 and used

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assig ...

N4CBC. In 1924, he helped direct the design and installation of a 100-watt radio transmitter at First Baptist Church in Nashville, which would become the area's first commercial radio station. DeWitt earned a bachelor's degree in engineering degree at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1928.

Career

DeWitt began work at

Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mul ...

in Washington, D.C. the next year. He returned to Nashville in 1932 to become chief engineer for WSM. After the outbreak of the Second World War, he returned to Washington as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army to work at the

United States Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of ...

' Evans Signal Laboratories on

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

. He was appointed director of the Evans Laboratories in late 1943, where he headed

. He retired from the Army in 1946 and worked for a year as a consultant to a

Clear-channel station A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-co ...

group, which was seeking approval for greater transmitter power. He became president of WSM in 1947, retiring in 1968.

Personal life and death

DeWitt was married twice and had two children. With first wife Ann Elise Martin DeWitt, he had a son, John Hibbett DeWitt III; with second wife Sykes Barbour Hewitt Neas, he had a daughter, Cary Claiborne DeWitt. DeWitt died January 25, 1999, 53 years to the day after making radio history.

Awards

Institute of Radio Engineers The Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until December 31, 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical ...

Fellow *1946:

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

*1964: Radio Engineering Achievement Award, National Association of Broadcasters *1974: Vanderbilt Academy of Distinguished Alumni *1995 Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame inductee

References

External links