Eastham, Melville, 1885-1964

Radio engineer and manufacturer.

From the description of Melville Eastham papers, 1908-1973 (bulk 1930-1964). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79455889

Biographical Note

• 1885, June 26: Born, Oregon City, Ore.
• 1905: Worked for Ovington X-ray Co., New York, N.Y.
• 1906: Founded with J. Emery Clapp and William O. Eddy, the Clapp, Eddy, and Eastham Co., Boston, Mass., manufacturing x-ray equipment
• 1908: Established Clapp-Eastham Co., after departure of Eddy, and shifted to manufacturing receiving and transmitting equipment; Clapp sold his interest in the company to Otis Kerro Luscomb in 1910
• circa 1914: Married Jessie Chase (died 1979)
• 1915: Founded with Luscomb, General Radio Co., Cambridge, Mass., manufacturing precision electrical measuring instruments; moved to Concord, Mass., in 1950s
• 1915 - 1944 : President, General Radio Co.
• 1917: Sold interest in Clapp-Eastham Co. to Luscomb; Luscomb sold interest in General Radio Co. to Eastham
• 1917 - 1919 : Produced radio equipment for the American forces during World War I
• 1920s: Joined in General Radio Co. by Henry Southworth Shaw (1884- )
• 1925: Named as fellow, Institute of Radio Engineers
• 1937: Awarded medal of honor, Institute of Radio Engineers
• circa 1942 - 1944 : Led LORAN radio navigation development efforts, Radiation Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., during World War II
• 1944 - 1950 : Chief engineer, General Radio Co.
• 1946: Named as fellow, American Institute of Electrical Engineers
• 1950: Retired from General Radio Co.
• 1964, May 6: Died, Boston, Mass.

From the guide to the Melville Eastham Papers, 1908-1973, (bulk 1930-1964), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)