Leslie E. Flory papers, 1936-1995
Part of collection: David Sarnoff Research Center records (2464-09)
Dates
- Creation: 1936-1995
Biographical Note
Leslie E. Flory was born in 1907 to farming parents in Kansas. As a teenager his interest in electronics was manifested by his home- built radio and its power supply Flory installed by stringing cable from town to his parents' house. Having graduated from Kansas University with a degree in electrical engineering in 1930, he went to work for RCA, after considering offers from GE, Westinghouse and AT&T. He was assigned to RCA's plant in Camden, New Jersey where he began to work in Vladimir Zworykin's laboratory, experimenting with the electronics of television. Flory, among others, worked closely with Zworykin to develop early television. They laid the foundation from which television as we know it today was developed.
Flory was awarded over 40 patents pertaining to photoelectric devices and apparatus, as well as other electrooptical inventions. He helped to develop instruments which would later facilitate night vision, reading aids for the blind, and electronic automobile safety control. Flory also helped develop an electronic computer which could process, store, retrieve and otherwise manipulate data.
Flory died in 2002 at the age of 95. Surviving him was his son Robert who had much earlier joined his father at RCA Laboratories. The pair was the first team of father and son to receive RCA Achievement Awards in electronics.
Scope and Content
The papers of Leslie Flory includes basic information about early television and a history of television from the early days with a focus on television cameras and receivers. They also describe his early experiments with a number of diverse electronic products.
The photographs in this collection include images of medical technology including the pacemaker, incubators, and radio pill capsules. There are also images from the electronic highway project that Flory worked on in the 1960s.
Six of Flory's lab notebooks (1939-1957) and one of his patent disclosure books (1939-1943) can be found in Record group 26.
General Physical Description (AVD portion only)
(AVD portion only) 223 photographic prints : b&w ; 8 x 10 in. and larger. 2 photographic prints : b&w ; 3 x 4 in. 1 photographic print : color ; 8 x 10 in. 38 photographic prints : b&w ; 4 x 6 in.
Arrangement
Files are arranged chronologically.
Extent
From the Collection: 990 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Additional Description
Access Restrictions
Records subject to 25-year time seal.
Arrangement
Files are arranged chronologically.
Processing Notes
Processed by David Burdash, 2014.
Related Names
Subject
- Flory, Leslie E. , 1907-2002 (Person)
Creator
- From the Collection: Sarnoff Corporation (Organization)
- From the Collection: Radio Corporation of America. David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, N.J (Organization)
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
