by Ken Daidone

The Fessenden Story for Dummies

Upon entering Roanoke Island, North Carolina, on the northwest side off the Ulmstead Bridge, you encounter a memorial plaque. The QST article ”Pioneers of Wireless” by Michael W. Marinaro, WN1M, in the October issue, aroused curiosity about one of the pioneers mentioned in the article: Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, (1866 – 1932).

After a stint as Chief Chemist for Thomas A. Edison, (1886 to 1892), R.A. Fessenden accepted a position as chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering; first at Purdue University and then Western University of Pennsylvania, now known as the University of Pittsburg (1892 – 1900).

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