John Howard Dellinger (July 3, 1886 – December 28, 1962) was a noted

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

telecommunication engineer who discovered how

solar flare A solar flare is an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and other solar phe ...

s caused fadeouts of short-wave radios (the

Dellinger effect A sudden ionospheric disturbance (SID) is any one of several ionospheric perturbations, resulting from abnormally high ionization/ plasma density in the D region of the ionosphere and caused by a solar flare and/or solar particle event (SPE). The ...

). Dellinger was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, first attended the

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, in 1908 received his A.B. degree from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, and in 1913 received his Ph.D. degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. From 1907-1948 Dellinger worked at the

National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

as physicist; chief, radio section; and chief, Central Radio Propagation Laboratory. From 1928-1929 he served as chief engineer of 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 ...

, and also served as a representative of the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

on the Radio Advisory Committee (1922–1948). He was appointed vice-president of the International Scientific Radio Union in 1934, chairman of the

Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics RTCA, Inc. (formerly known as Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) is a United States non-profit organization that develops technical guidance for use by government regulatory authorities and by industry. It was founded in 1935 and was re-in ...

in 1941, chairman of the Radio Technical Commission for Marine Services in 1947, and chairman of Study Group 6 on Radio Propagation of the International Radio Consultative Committee in 1950. In 1932 Dellinger was awarded the Sc.D. degree from

, and in 1938 the

IRE Medal of Honor The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contribution ...

"for his contributions to the development of radio measurements and standards, his researches and discoveries of the relation between radio wave propagation and other natural phenomena, and his leadership in international conferences contributing to the worldwide cooperation in telecommunications. The crater Dellinger on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is named in his honor.

References

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IEEE History Center biography
American electrical engineers Radio pioneers IEEE Medal of Honor recipients Case Western Reserve University alumni George Washington University alumni Princeton University alumni People from Cleveland 1886 births 1962 deaths {{US-electrical-engineer-stub