Kenneth Malcolm Swezey (1904-1972) was an American journalist. He was a science writer living and working in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Biography

Kenneth Swezey was born in Brooklyn on 11 June 1904. His mother, Carrie, was 42 at the time and his father, Edwin L. Swezey, was 47. He had a sister, Martha, who was 13 years older and a sister, Anna, who was 25 years older. From early on he wrote about science and technology, selling his first article, on how to make a

wet cell battery An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negat ...

, at age 11. In his late teens he got a job writing a column on

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

technology for the New York paper The Sun. He would go on to contribute articles as a freelance writer for various magazines such as ''

The Experimenter ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', ''

Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is pu ...

'', and '' Popular Science'' (a reappearing series of "''Home Experiments''" articles). He would often illustrated his articles with photographs he shot himself. He lived with his parents up into his twenty's but by his thirty's he was living alone in a nearby residence on Milton Street in Brooklyn, New York. After World War II he wrote many books explaining scientific principles, sometimes equating them with everyday life and use in the home workshop. He died of a heart attack in 1972 at the age of 67.

Association with Nikola Tesla

Swezey met

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

, and a feature on the cover of ''Time'' magazine. He is associated with a "Tesla Society" that organized a 100th anniversary celebration of Tesla's birth in 1956. He also lobbied for ships, schools, and a unit of measurement to be named after Tesla as well as the issuing of a commemorative stamp.Guide to the Kenneth M. Swezey Papers, Smithsonian Institution, SOVA
/ref>

Publications

* Author (book): Formulas, Methods, Tips and Data for Home and Workshop, 1969 * Author (book): Science Shows You How, exciting experiments that demonstrate basic principles, McGraw Hill, 1964 (a book aimed at teenagers) * Author (book): Chemistry Magic, 1956 * Author (book): After Dinner Science, Wittlesey House, 1949 * Author: "Experiments with Tesla Resonator", The Experimenter, July 1925, p 625

External links

''The Home of Home Experiments'' (profile of Kenneth Swezey), Popular Science Jan 1949, page 286Guide to the Kenneth M. Swezey Papers, Smithsonian Institution, SOVA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swezey, Kenneth M 1904 births 1972 deaths American science journalists Writers from Brooklyn