Fletcher, Harvey, 1884-1981
Dates
- Existence: 1884 - 1981
Biographical History
Harvey Fletcher (1884-1981) was a prominent physicist, renowned as the Father of stereophonic sound, credited with inventing the hearing aid and the first audiometer, Director of Research at Bell Laboratories, and Founding Dean of the College of Engineering at Brigham Young University.
Harvey Fletcher was a prominent physicist, reknowned as the Father of stereophonic sound, credited with inventing the hearing aid and the first audiometer, Director of Research at Bell Laboratories, and Founding Dean of the College of Engineering at Brigham Young University. He was the graduate student whose dissertation research was the oil drop experiment to measure the charge on an electron, under the direction of Robert Millikan. His honorary positions included President of the Acoustical Society of America and President of the American Physical Society. In addition, he was a faithful father, a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a dedicated gardener, and a fishing enthusiast.
He was born in Provo, Utah, on September 11, 1884. His first wife (Lorena Chipman) was American Mother of the Year in 1965. She passed away in 1967. Harvey and Lorena had 7 children (Phyllis, Steve, Charles, James, Robert, Harvey Junior, and Paul).
In his later years, Harvey married Lorena's sister, Fern Chipman Eyring. Fern's husband (Carl Eyring) passed away as a young scientist, and Harvey and Fern were married for 12 years until Harvey's death in 1981.