Norman Jefferis "Jeff" Holter (February 1, 1914 – July 21, 1983) was an American

biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study Biology, biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from Molecule, molecular to organismic ...

who invented the

Holter monitor In medicine, a Holter monitor (often simply Holter) is a type of ambulatory electrocardiography device, a portable device for cardiac monitoring (the monitoring of the electrical activity of the cardiovascular system) for at least 24 hours. T ...

, a portable device for continuously monitoring the

electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

activity of the heart for 24 hours or more. Holter donated the rights to his invention to medicine.

Early life and education

Holter was born February 1, 1914, in

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...

. He graduated from

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

in 1931 and then continued his studies at

University of California Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, graduating from there with a master's degree in physics in 1937. He then graduated a year later from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

with a master's degree in chemistry. He continued his education by completing postgraduate work at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

(Germany), the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

Medical School.

Career

During World War II, Holter served as senior physicist in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, studying the characteristics of waves. In 1946, he headed a government research team involved in the atomic-bomb testing at

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Second ...

. After the war, he continued work with the

United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President H ...

, and served as president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine from 1955 to 1956. In 1964, he became a full professor at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

, coordinating activities at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. In 1979, the

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) is an organization for advancing the development, and safe and effective use of medical technology founded in 1965 by Robert D. Hall Jr. and Robert J. Allen, President and Vic ...

(AAMI) awarded Holter with the AAMI Foundation Laufman-Greatbatch Prize for his contributions to medical technology. Holter was the son and grandson, respectively, of Montana pioneers Norman B. Holter and Anton M. Holter. Anton M. Holter was born in his native

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and emigrated to the United States when he was 23. Numerous landmarks in and around Helena, Montana bear his family's name. These landmarks include The Holter Museum of Art,

Holter Dam Holter Dam is a hydroelectric straight gravity dam on the Missouri River about northeast of Helena, Montana, in the United States.''Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan, 2010-2019,'' Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and ...

, and

Holter Lake Holter Dam is a hydroelectric straight gravity dam on the Missouri River about northeast of Helena, Montana, in the United States.''Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan, 2010-2019,'' Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and P ...

The Holter Art Museum ''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 ...

is widely recognized as the premiere modern western art museum in the United States and attracts the talents and attention of international crowds. HolterAFT1000

References

1914 births 1983 deaths American biologists 20th-century American physicists People from Helena, Montana 20th-century biologists Inventors from Montana 20th-century American inventors {{US-physicist-stub