|
Bill invented two major
products. One is a product we use nearly every day even though most
people have no idea who invented it. The other is used by only a
small percentage of people, but nearly everyone recognizes the name.
Bill's family moved from Hannibal to Chicago when he was a boy,
and Bill relocated to Quincy when he was 20. In fact, Bill had a
granddaughter who was three years ahead of me in high school in
Quincy.
In the early 1960s, Bill created a tape cartridge with multiple
tracks that would lower the price of tapes without losing any of the
music quality. Originally known as the Stereo-8 player, Bill had
improved upon the four-track stereo tape cartridge system that was
already in use, and he achieved mass market status with it in Ford
cars and in households, beginning in 1965. His Stereo-8 player
became known as the eight-track tape player.
We all know that the eight-track tape player would later lose out
to cassette players and record players and eventually CD players.
You can't blame Bill for not knowing in advance what the future
would bring, though, as his eight-track tape player became a huge
success back in his day.
What was Bill's full name?
Bill Lear.
One reason why Bill Lear was able to get the eight-track tape
player used in Ford cars was because he was well-known among auto
industry executives for one of his other inventions: the car radio.
[to top of second column] |
Along with his friend Elmer Wavering, Bill Lear co-invented the
first practical car radio in 1922. To promote their car radio, Bill
and Elmer attended a major automotive trade show in Chicago and,
unwilling to shell out the big bucks required to get a booth at the
trade show, they parked their car near the building's entrance and
cranked up the volume on their radio. This was at a time when nobody
had ever heard of a car radio.
Everyone who attended the trade show walked right past their car
and heard the car radio. As a result, Lear and Wavering wrote up
more orders that day than either of them could have imagined. They
later sold the rights for their car radio to Galvin Manufacturing
Company, which became Motorola. The car radio became Motorola's
first major product.
In case you're wondering if this is the same Bill Lear behind
Learjet, it is. He founded Learjet in 1962, and it went on to become
the world's premier supplier of corporate jets in less than five
years. He also produced one of the first automatic pilot systems for
airplanes. Altogether, Bill Lear earned more than 100 patents in the
audio, automotive and aircraft industries during his career as an
inventor from the 1920s to the 1960s.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann may be reached at niemann7@aol.com. You can learn
more about Invention Mysteries by visiting the official
Invention Mysteries website.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2006
[Other
columns] |
