Radio Equipment De Forest thermionic triode valve, c 1907

Radio Equipment De Forest thermionic triode valve, c 1907. Lee De Forest (1873-1961) was an American electrical engineer and inventor. In 1907, while working for the Western Electric Company, he patented the thermionic triode, which he called the ïaudion valve. Essentially a development of the diode patented by John Ambrose Fleming, but with an additional electrode between the cathode and the anode, the triode was able to amplify weak electrical signals, making it a crucial invention for the development of radio. For 50 years, valves were a fundamental component in all radio equipment, until being generally replaced by the transistor. In the United States, De Forest is known as ïthe father of radio. ©SSPL/Science Museum