Walter Ransom Gail Baker (November 30, 1892 – October 30, 1960) was an American electrical engineer. He was a vice president of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

, and was Director of Engineering for the

Radio Manufacturers Association The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA; until 1997 Electronic Industries Association) was an American standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers in the United States. They devel ...

(now the

Electronic Industries Alliance The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA; until 1997 Electronic Industries Association) was an American standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers in the United States. They devel ...

). At the urging of

James Lawrence Fly James Lawrence "Larry" Fly (February 22, 1898 – January 6, 1966) was an American lawyer, famous as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and, later, director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He helped inaugurate standards fo ...

, Chairman of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC), Baker founded the National Television System Committee, or

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

, in 1940.

Donald G. Fink Donald Glen Fink (November 8, 1911 – May 3, 1996) was an American electrical engineer, a pioneer in the development of radio navigation systems and television standards, vice president for research of Philco, president of the Institute of Ra ...

The Forces at Work Behind the NTSC Standards
a paper presented at the 122nd annual SMPTE Technical Conference, November 9–14, 1980, New York, N.Y. He served as President of the

Institute of Radio Engineers The Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until December 31, 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical a ...

(IRE) in 1947.

Biography

He was born in

Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the Lockport (town), New York, town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, Niagara County, New York (state), New York. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census ...

, in 1892. He graduated from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

with a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in 1916. He took a job with

in 1916 and worked on radio for military applications during

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 ...

. He received a

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

from

, in 1919. He died on October 30, 1960.

Awards and honors

Walter Baker received following awards and honors: * The

SMPTE The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and executives working in the m ...

David Sarnoff Medal in 1959 * The IRE Founders Award in 1958 * The Army Medal of Freedom in 1953 * 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 ...

in 1952 *Eminent Member of

Eta Kappa Nu Eta Kappa Nu () or IEEE-HKN is the international honor society of the Computer Science and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). "The organization promotes excellence in the profession and in education through an emphasis ...

in 1954 * IRE Fellow in 1928 * The initially called W.R.G. Baker Award provided by the

(IRE), was created in 1956 from a donation from Dr. Walter R. G. Baker to the IRE. The award continued to be awarded as

IEEE W.R.G. Baker Award IEEE W.R.G. Baker Award provided by the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE), was created in 1956 from a donation from Walter R. G. Baker (1892–1960) to the IRE. The award continued to be awarded by the board of directors of the Institute of Ele ...

by the Board of Directors of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

(IEEE), after the IRE organization merged into the IEEE. The call sign of (then)-General Electric owned television station in Schenectady,

WRGB WRGB (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Schenectady, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CW affiliate WCWN (channel 45, also licensed to Sch ...

(then an NBC station, it joined CBS in 1981), was chosen in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Walter Ransom Gail 1892 births 1960 deaths American electrical engineers Radio pioneers IEEE Medal of Honor recipients 20th-century American engineers