Edwin Howard Armstrong

About

Electrical engineer who created the modern frequency modulated (FM) radio. By the end of his career he had been awarded 42 patents and was the recipient of the French Legion of Honor, the 1941 Franklin Medal and the 1942 Edison Medal, among other awards.

Before Fame

At age 11 he witnessed Guglielmo Marconi's transatlantic radio transmission, which inspired him to learn all about radio.

Trivia

He jumped to his death from the thirteenth floor of his New York City apartment after losing most of his money due to years of legal tussles with RCA.

Family Life

He married the secretary of his boss, RCA president in 1922.

Associated With

There is an Armstrong Hall at Columbia University named after him, and a famous restaurant in that hall has been used for episodes of Jerry Seinfeld's sitcom "Seinfeld."