Oral history interview with Harvey Fletcher
Scope and Contents
Interview by Hollis Scott with Harvey Fletcher, scientist and teacher, concerning his experiences in Provo, Utah, as a graduate student at the University of Chicago, as a teacher at Brigham Young University, and as a bishop and stake president in the New York Stake. Includes sound recording.
Dates
- Creation: 1968
Creator
- Fletcher, Harvey, 1884-1981 (interviewee, Person)
- Scott, Hollis, 1919-2005 (interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Oral history interview with Harvey Fletcher must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Biographical History
Harvey Fletcher (1884-1981) 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.
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.
Extent
1 folder (0.1 linear ft.)
Language of Materials
English
Appraisal
University history (University Archives collecting policy, February 2010).
General
Recorded in Provo, Utah.
Subject
- Brigham Young University -- Faculty (Organization)
- Brigham Young University -- History (Organization)
- Baldwin, Nathaniel, 1878-1961 (Person)
- Brigham Young University -- Alumni and alumnae -- Interviews (Organization)
- Title
- Register of Oral history interview with Harvey Fletcher
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jennifer Kim
- Date
- 2011 August 22
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. University Archives Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo UT 84602 US