Arnold Lynch (3 June 1914 – 13 November 2004) was an English engineer, known for his work on an optical tape reader which was used in the construction of the

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...

, the first electronic computer. By 1944 ten Colossus computers were installed at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

and used to read high-level (''Fish'' or ''Tunny'') German ciphers. Lynch joined the

Post Office Research Station The Post Office Research Station was first established as a separate section of the General Post Office in 1909. In 1921, the Research Station moved to Dollis Hill, north west London, initially in ex-army huts. The main permanent buildings at ...

in 1936, specialising in the measurement of the electrical and magnetic properties of materials. He retired in 1974, but continued to come to work at NPL in the

dielectric In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an electrical insulator that can be polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the mate ...

area of RF and microwave electromagnetism up to the year of his death. The Maths, Art and Design Technology Department at

Dame Alice Owen's School Dame Alice Owen's School (also known as Dame Alice Owen's or Owen's; referred to by the acronym DAOS) is an 11–18 mixed, partially selective secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England. It i ...

was named after Lynch, in thanks for his work during his time at the school and his success as a scientist. He married Edith Taylor in 1953. Their children are Cedric Lynch and two daughters. Times-Obit.. and https://books.google.com/books?id=1Ip_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA70

References

External links

Times Obituary
1914 births 2004 deaths Bletchley Park people English electrical engineers {{crypto-bio-stub