Percy Spencer
| Percy Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1894 Howland, Maine |
| Died | September 8, 1970 (aged 76) Newton, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | United States Navy |
| Occupation | Scientist, Radio Engineer, Inventor |
| Employer | Raytheon |
| Known for | Microwave oven |
| Spouse(s) | Louise Spencer, Lillian Ottenheimer Spencer |
| Children | James, John, and George |
Percy Lebaron Spencer (July 19, 1894 – September 8, 1970) was an American physicist and inventor. He became known as the inventor of the microwave oven.
Spencer was born in Howland, Maine. Eighteen months later, Spencer's father died, and his mother soon left him in the care of his aunt and uncle. His uncle then died when Spencer was just seven years old. Spencer subsequently left grammar school to earn money to support himself and his aunt. From the ages of twelve to sixteen, he worked from sunrise to sunset at a spool mill. At the later age, he discovered that a local paper mill was soon to begin using electricity, a concept little known in his rural home region, and he accordingly began learning as much as possible about the phenomenon. Therefore, when he applied to work at the mill, he was one of three people hired to install electricity in the plant, despite never having received any formal training in electrical engineering or even finishing grammar school. At the age of 18, Spencer decided to join the U.S. Navy. He had become interested in wireless communications after learning about the wireless operators aboard the Titanic when it sank. While with the navy, he made himself an expert on radio technology: "I just got hold of a lot of textbooks and taught myself while I was standing watch at night." He also subsequently taught himself trigonometry, calculus, chemistry, physics, and metallurgy, among other subjects.
By 1939 Spencer became one of the world’s leading experts in radar tube design. Spencer worked at Raytheon, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, as the chief of the power tube division. Largely due to his reputation and expertise, Spencer managed to help Raytheon win a government contract to develop and produce combat radar equipment for M.I.T.’s Radiation Laboratory. This was of huge importance to the Allies and became the military’s second highest priority project during WWII, behind the Manhattan Project. At that time, magnetrons were used to generate the microwave radio signals that are the core mechanism of radar, and they were being made at the rate of 17 per day at Raytheon. While working there, Spencer developed a more efficient way to manufacture them, by punching out and soldering together magnetron parts, rather than using machined parts. It also saw Spencer’s staff rise from 15 employees to 5,000 over the course of the next few years. His improvements were among those that increased magnetron production to 2,600 per day. For his work, he was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award by the U.S. Navy.
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