John hays hammond autobiography examples

In the last installment on the Benjamin F. Miessner papers, we explored the life cycle of an invention, from conception to testing, patenting, and sale. We also touched on the legal troubles that an inventor could find themselves embroiled in, both as the prosecutor and the defendant in infringement suits. The legal suits discussed last time were professional in nature and not highly publicized, as was the case with most of Miessner’s court cases. This was not always true, however, as Miessner also had a deeply personal feud with a fellow inventor, John Hays Hammond, Jr., which led to repeated legal action and public debate.

From 1911-1912, Miessner was in the employ of John Hays Hammond, Jr., with whom he worked on the development of wireless radio-controlled torpedoes for submarines – a study Miessner referred to as “radiodynamics.” Although the two men got along well at the start, they parted on bitter terms, with Miessner accusing Hammond of denying him credit for his inventions, which Hammond had been patenting in his own name, as well as reneging on a promise to finance Miessner’s college education.

While attending Purdue University after leaving Hammond’s employ, 1913-1916, Miessner was involved in a series of legal and personal battles with Hammond. In 1913, Hammond sought to obtain a written promise from Miessner that he would not patent or disclose any of the ideas he had developed while working for Hammond; a request which Miessner refused. Going a step further, Miessner gave several lectures on devices he developed with Hammond throughout 1913, and published an article in the Purdue Engineering Review on Hammond’s radio-controlled torpedoes in 1915.

During this same period (1913-1916), Hammond sought to sell the patents he made from his and Miessner’s work to the United States (U.S.) Government, which Miessner a

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American inventor (1888–1965)

For other people named John Hammond, see John Hammond (disambiguation).

John Hays Hammond Jr. (April 13, 1888 – February 12, 1965) was an American inventor known as "The Father of Radio Control". Hammond's pioneering developments in electronic remote control are the foundation for all modern radio remote control devices, including modern missile guidance systems, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and the unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAVs). Of Hammond's many individual inventions, the inventions which have seen the most significant application are the variable pitch or controlled pitch propellers and single dial radio tuning. He was the son of mining engineer John Hays Hammond, Sr.

Biography

Born in San Francisco, California, he and his family moved to South Africa and the Transvaal in 1893. His father was active as a mining engineer for Cecil Rhodes' mines in South Africa. In 1898, the family moved to England, where young Hammond fell in love with castles and life in earlier times. The family returned to the United States at the turn of the 20th century.

At the age of twelve, Hammond accompanied his father on a business trip to Thomas Edison’s laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey. Upon being introduced to Edison, the boy asked so many questions that the inventor gave him a personal tour of the complex and assumed the role of mentor. The two would remain in contact for the rest of Edison’s life. While studying at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, Hammond became interested in the new study of radio waves, and he was taken under the wing of Alexander Graham Bell. Bell also became his mentor, and the two would remain close friends until Bell’s death.

After graduation from Yale in 1910, Hammond took a job in the U.S. Patent Office. His strategy was simple: having learned from Edison that "inventing had to