Nathan B. Stubblefield

Nathan B. Stubblefield
Stubblefield (1908) with his later, induction, wireless telephone
Born	Nathan Beverly Stubblefield (1860-11-22)November 22, 1860
Died	March 28, 1928(1928-03-28) (aged 67)
Cause of death	heart disease (suspected)
Resting place	Bowman Cemetery
Residence	Murray, Kentucky
Nationality	American
Occupation	inventor
Known for	wireless telephony
Spouse(s)	Ada Mae Stubblefield
Children	Frederic, Bernard Bowman, Pattie Lee, Victoria Edison, Nathan Franklin, Oliver (RayJack), Helen Joe, William Tesla
Parent(s)	William "Capt. Billy" Jefferson Stubblefield (1830–1874) and Victoria Bowman (1837–1869)

Nathan Beverly Stubblefield (November 22, 1860 – March 28, 1928), self-described "practical farmer, fruit grower and electrician", was an American inventor best known for his wireless telephone work. He received widespread attention in early 1902 when he gave a series of public demonstrations of a battery-operated wireless telephone, which could be transported to different locations and used on mobile platforms such as boats. While this initial design employed conduction, in 1908 he received a U.S. patent for a wireless telephone system that used magnetic induction. However, he was ultimately unsuccessful in commercializing his inventions. He later went into seclusion, and died alone in 1928.

Disagreement exists whether Stubblefield's communications technology can be classified as radio, and if his 1902 demonstrations could be considered the first "radio broadcasts". Most reviews of his efforts have concluded that they were not radio transmissions, because his devices, although they used a form of "wireless", employed conduction and inductive fields, while the standard definition of radio is the transmission of electromagnetic radiation. However, Stubblefield may have been the first to simultaneously transmit audio wirelessly to multiple receivers, albeit over relatively short distances, while predicting the eventual development of broadcasting on a national scale.

Stubblefield was the second of seven sons of William "Captain Billy" Jefferson Stubblefield (1830–1874), a confederate army veteran and lawyer, and Victoria Bowman (1837–1869), who died of scarlet fever. Stubblefield grew up in Murray, Kentucky, and his education included tutoring by a governess, followed by attendance at a boarding school in nearby Farmington called the "Male and Female Institute". His formal education ended in 1874, at the age of 14, with his father's death, which left Stubblefield an orphan in the care of his step-mother. However, he continued to develop his technical knowledge by reading contemporary scientific publications, such as Scientific American and Electrical World.

In 1881 he married Ada Mae Buchannan and they had nine children, two of whom died in infancy. Six of Nathan's seven children did not bear descendants. The seventh child, son Oliver (RayJack), married Priscilla Alden who had three children—two daughters and Nathan's only grandson, Keith Stubblefield, who became a television and recording personality under the professional name of Troy Cory.