Walter Ransom Gail Baker
Walter R. G. Baker
Born(1892-11-30)November 30, 1892[1]
Lockport, New York
DiedOctober 30, 1960(1960-10-30) (aged 67)[2]
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUnion College
AwardsIEEE Medal of Honor (1952)
IEEE Founders Medal (1958)
Scientific career
FieldsElectrical engineering

Walter Ransom Gail Baker (November 30, 1892 – October 30, 1960) was an American electrical engineer.[3] He was a vice president of General Electric, and was Director of Engineering for the Radio Manufacturers Association (now the Electronic Industries Alliance). At the urging of James Lawrence Fly, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Baker founded the National Television System Committee, or NTSC, in 1940.[4][5] He served as president of the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) in 1947.

Biography

He was born in Lockport, New York, in 1892. He graduated from Union College with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1916. He took a job with General Electric in 1916 and worked on radio for military applications during World War I.[6]

He received a M.S. in electrical engineering from Union College, in 1919.[6]

He died on October 30, 1960.[6]

Awards and honors

Walter Baker received following awards and honors:[5]

The call sign of (then)-General Electric owned television station in Schenectady, WRGB (then an NBC station, it joined CBS in 1981), was chosen in his honor.

References

  1. ^ Televiser, Volumes 1-1946. Television Publications. 1944.
  2. ^ Union, American Geophysical (1961). Transactions - American Geophysical Union.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Walter R. G. Baker". Physics Today. 14 (1): 98. January 1961. doi:10.1063/1.3057377.
  4. ^ Donald G. Fink, The Forces at Work Behind the NTSC Standards, a paper presented at the 122nd annual SMPTE Technical Conference, November 9–14, 1980, New York, N.Y.
  5. ^ a b "Walter Baker". IEEE Global History Network. IEEE. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  6. ^ a b c "Dr. W.R.G. Baker, TV Pioneer, Dead. Vice President for Research at Syracuse Was Former General Electric Officer". New York Times. October 31, 1960. Retrieved 2010-11-20. The scientist, whose full name was Walter Ransom Gail Baker, was born in Lockport. He graduated in 1916 from Union College, later receiving a master ...
  7. ^ "IEEE W.R.G. Baker Award". IEEE. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
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