Edward S. Rogers Sr.
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Edward Samuel Rogers Sr. (June 21, 1900 – May 6, 1939) was a Canadian inventor and pioneer in the
radio industry The "radio industry" is a generic term for any companies or public service providers who are involved with the broadcast of radio stations or ancillary services. Radio broadcasters can be broken into at least two different groups: Public service ...
who founded the Rogers Vacuum Tube Company and the CFRB radio station in Toronto, Ontario. His only child, Edward S. Rogers Jr., established Rogers Communications.


Early life and family

Rogers was born on June 21, 1900, in Toronto, Ontario. During his childhood, his family lived at 49 Nanton Avenue in the Rosedale neighbourhood of Toronto. His father, businessman Albert Stephen Rogers (1860–1932), was a director of
Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...
(after his Queen City Oil Company was bought out) and formerly a partner in Samuel and Elias Rogers Coal Company (later Elias Rogers and Company). The coal firm had been founded in 1876 by his Quaker father, Samuel Rogers, and uncle Elias Rogers. The latter served as a Toronto alderman for St. Lawrence Ward in 1887. The family descends from
Timothy Rogers Timothy Rogers (1658–1728) was an English nonconformist minister, known as an author on depression as a sufferer. Life The son of John Rogers (1610–1680), he was born at Barnard Castle, County Durham on 24 May 1658. He was educated at Glas ...
(1756–1834), a Quaker leader who established Newmarket and
Pickering Pickering may refer to: Places Antarctica * Pickering Nunataks, Alexander Island Australia * Pickering, South Australia, the original name (1872–1940) of the town of Wool Bay * Pickering Brook, Western Australia, Australia Canada * Pic ...
in what is now the province of Ontario.


Career

Rogers first became interested in radio when he saw a receiver at age 11. By 1913, he was noted in local newspapers for his skill at operating a radio station, which at the time was an impressive technical accomplishment. Rogers worked as a radio officer on Great Lakes passenger ships during the summers of 1916-1919 inclusive. He graduated from the University of Toronto Schools in 1919. Two years later, Rogers operated the only Canadian (and only spark-gap) station to successfully compete in the first amateur trans-Atlantic radio competition. Rogers held the
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 ...
call sign 3BP, and joined the Canadian chapter of the American Radio Relay League in 1921. In the early 1920s, radio transmitters and receivers ran on large and expensive
batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
to provide the high voltages needed for the vacuum tubes used. Early attempts at producing a radio receiver to operate on household alternating current were unsuccessful, since tubes designed for the low current supply from batteries were unsatisfactory when operated on 25- or 60-hertz alternating current. The batteries were also extremely large and bulky. In April 1924, Rogers travelled to the United States and saw experimental AC receiving tubes at the laboratories of Westinghouse in Pittsburgh. He purchased the patent rights to the experimental alternating current tubes of Frederick S. McCullough. After further development, Rogers produced a design of vacuum tube that would operate on alternating current. By 1925, Rogers had introduced not only a complete radio receiver using the new tubes, but had also produced a " battery eliminator" ( power supply) that could be used with other manufacturers' receivers to eliminate the expensive batteries. By August 1925, the Rogers batteryless radio was in commercial sales, the first radio receiver in the world to operate from household current. At a time when a schoolteacher might earn $1,000 per year, the top-of-the-line Rogers radio sold for $370. Rogers formed the company "Standard Radio Manufacturing" (later Rogers Vacuum Tube Company) to produce radio receivers using the new design of vacuum tubes. In 1927, Rogers founded CFRB (''Canada’s First Rogers Batteryless'') radio station. The station is owned today by Bell Media.


Marriage and death

In 1930, Rogers married Velma Melissa Taylor. Three years later, they had a son, Edward S. Rogers Jr., who grew up to build Rogers Communications into a media conglomerate. Rogers died suddenly in 1939 due to complications of a hemorrhage. He was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto. Velma Rogers subsequently married John Graham, a Toronto lawyer, who became the stepfather of Edward Rogers Jr.


Honours and awards

Rogers was posthumously inducted into the
Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame The Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, started in 1982, recognizes Canadians in broadcasting or entertainment related industries who have "achieved outstanding success in helping raise industry standards from a material or humanitarian standpoint." T ...
in 1982 and the
Telecommunications Hall of Fame Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame was a Canadian not-for-profit foundation that sought to foster a greater awareness of Canada's role in developing and innovating telecommunications. The foundation began operating in 2005 and had two main pr ...
alongside his son in 2006. In 2000, Rogers and the "batteryless radio" were included as one of the
Canada Post millennium stamps Due to popular demand, Canada Post released the 68 specially designed stamps as a series of 17 Millennium souvenir sheets, each depicting four different stamps, starting December 17, 1999 through to March 17, 2000. December 1999 This first serie ...
.


Relatives

Members of Rogers' family included: * Albert Stephen Rogers (1860–1932): Rogers' father; a prominent businessman who also served as chairman of Rogers Majestic. * Joseph Elsworth Rogers (1898–1960): Rogers' brother; served as vice-president of Rogers Majestic until 1939, then as head from 1939 to 1960. * Samuel Rogers (1835–1903): father of Albert Stephen Rogers; partner in coal business with Elias Rogers, then founded the Samuel Rogers Queen City Oil Works, which became the Queen City Oil Company and was later amalgamated with
Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...
. * Elias Rogers (1850–1920): youngest brother of Samuel Rogers; partner with Samuel in coal business, which subsequently became Elias Rogers and Company.Profile: Elias Rogers, Canada’s “King Coal”
/ref> * Alfred Selby Rogers (1874–1953): nephew of Samuel Rogers and only surviving son of Elias Rogers; inherited the coal business from his father. * Elias Rogers Sr. (1806–1850): father of Samuel and Elias Rogers ('' inter alios''), and son of Asa and Mary Rogers. *
Timothy Rogers Timothy Rogers (1658–1728) was an English nonconformist minister, known as an author on depression as a sufferer. Life The son of John Rogers (1610–1680), he was born at Barnard Castle, County Durham on 24 May 1658. He was educated at Glas ...
(1756–1834): a Quaker leader whose daughter Mary (1782–1809) married Asa Rogers (1781–1834); their eldest son was Elias Rogers Sr.


References


External links


Find A Grave – Edward Samuel Rogers
* ttp://www.hammondmuseumofradio.org/rogers.html Hammond Museum of Radio: Rogersbr>Radio Museum: Rogers - Majestic
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Edward S. Sr. 1900 births 1939 deaths Rogers Communications 20th-century Canadian inventors Canadian radio company founders Businesspeople from Toronto Radio pioneers Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto Amateur radio people