Clive Burlingame Meredith (February 7, 1892 – April 11, 1932) was an American
radio engineer
Broadcast engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering are also essential par ...
and radio station owner. Meredith served as the founding owner and operator of WSYR in
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. He also assisted the
Federal Radio Commission
The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by t ...
with the developing a means to reduce
heterodyne
A heterodyne is a signal frequency that is created by combining or mixing two other frequencies using a signal processing technique called ''heterodyning'', which was invented by Canadian inventor-engineer Reginald Fessenden. Heterodyning is us ...
interference between radio stations operating on the same transmitting frequency.
Early life and education
Meredith was born to Eugene Meredith and Gertrude Burlingame Meredith in Syracuse. He was a grandson of diplomat
Anson Burlingame
Anson Burlingame (November 14, 1820 – February 23, 1870) was an American lawyer, Republican/American Party legislator, diplomat, and abolitionist. As diplomat, he served as the U.S. minister to China (1862–1867) and then as China's envoy to t ...
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
in 1910. He then attended
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
from 1910 to 1913. Meredith later participated in the
Harvard Club of New York
The Harvard Club of New York City, commonly called The Harvard Club, is a private social club located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Its membership is limited to alumni, faculty, and boardmembers of Harvard University.
Incorporated in 1 ...
.
Radio operations
On September 15, 1922, Meredith launched radio station WMAC from his home in
Cazenovia, New York
Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove , Theophile Cazenove, the ''Agent Gener ...
, with the first broadcast featuring music from nationally known harpist Melville Clark. In late 1926 he founded a second station, WSYR, operating from the Hotel Syracuse in nearby Syracuse. In 1930 these two stations were consolidated in Syracuse as WSYR-WMAC.
In 1927, Meredith devised a plan for precise unified control of radio station transmitting frequencies; this plan informed work by the Federal Radio Commission to reduce
electromagnetic interference
Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electros ...
. The following year, Meredith organized WSYR's participation in a national frequency synchronization experiment for the commission. WSYR partnered with four stations also broadcasting on 1020 kHz (294 meters): WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, KPRC in Houston, Texas, WODA in Paterson, New Jersey, and WGL in New York City.
Meredith also operated
amateur radio
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
station 8AQO with J. Edward Page. In December 1922, this station participated in a transatlantic test of the
American Radio Relay League
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the United States. ARRL is a non-profit organization, and was co-founded on April 6, 1914, by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska of ...
, and was one of 13 radio stations heard by listeners in both England and France.
Military service during World War I
In 1917, Meredith attended the officers' training camp for the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in
Plattsburgh, New York
Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...
. After he received a commission of second lieutenant in the infantry, he served at
Fort Dix
Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force A ...
, a military facility near
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.78th Infantry Division. He later joined the Aviation Section of the Army Signal Corps as a second lieutenant and sailed for France to serve in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on February 26, 1918. Meredith served at the headquarters of the
U.S. Army Air Service
The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...
and then as an officer in charge of
supply train
In military contexts, a train is the logistical transport elements accompanying a military force. Often called a supply train or baggage train, it has the job of providing materiel for their associated combat forces when in the field. When focuse ...
.
During the summer, Meredith returned to infantry. The U.S. Army detailed him to the headquarters of the 41st Division and then to the 2nd Machine Gun Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division. Following the conclusion of World War I, Meredith served with the Army of Occupation during the
Occupation of the Rhineland
The Occupation of the Rhineland from 1 December 1918 until 30 June 1930 was a consequence of the collapse of the Imperial German Army in 1918, after which Germany's provisional government was obliged to agree to the terms of the 1918 armist ...
.
Personal life
On October 4, 1913, Meredith married Alice Louise Abbott of
Pelham Manor, New York
Pelham Manor is an affluent village located in Westchester County, New York. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total population of 5,752. It is located in the town of Pelham.
History
The Bolton Priory, Edgewood House, and Pelhamdale are ...
, who was related to the
Roosevelt family
The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, artists, and socialites. The progeny ...
. They divorced in 1914 and they both remarried. His second wife was Jean Jeffrey Smedberg.
Meredith died in an
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
hospital on April 11, 1932, after a car accident. According to reports, he was a passenger in a car struck by another car near
Selkirk, New York
Selkirk is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York, United States. It is located south of the city of Albany and is a suburb of that city.
A major freight railyard operated by the Selkirk Subdivision of CSX Transportation ...
, in the evening of April 10. Meredith was thrown from the vehicle and run over by a third car, suffering punctured lungs. He died the next morning in the hospital.