Harvey Fletcher: A son’s reflections

Abstract

Harvey Fletcher was born on 11 September 1884, in Provo, Utah, of pioneer parents. He received a B.S. degree from Brigham Young University. He then entered the University of Chicago, where he worked with Robert Millikan on the determination of ‘‘e’’, and earned his Ph.D. in physics, summa cum laude, in 1911. He was made director of acoustical research at Bell Laboratories in 1928, and the following year, co‐founded the Acoustical Society of America. By 1935 he was made director of physical research at Bell Laboratories. As such, he supervised the work of Shockley, Brattain, and Bardeen in the development of the transistor; Dean Wooldridge, James Fiske, Charles Towne, and many other outstanding physicists. Upon retirement from Bell Laboratories, Harvey Fletcher accepted a position as professor of electrical engineering at Columbia University, a position he held for 3 years. In 1952, he returned to BYU as director of research, and from 1960 until his death at the age of 96, he actively pursued the study of musical tones.