Alan Blumlein & His Contributions to Communications

Alan Blumlein was an electrical engineer who is a major contributor to modern day telecommunications. Blumlein is well respected and diverse for his many inventions in many different industries. As well as telecommunications, he is a pioneer in sound recording, television and radar and is the founding father of the stereo. Blumlein had registered over one hundred patents, many of which are extremely significant. Due to his many contributions, Alan Blumlein is the most relevant inventors of all time.

Blumenthal was born in London England in the early part of the twentieth century. Considered by many to be the most significant electrical engineer of his time, Blumlein graduated from City & Guilds with highest honors. He was awarded a first class degree in (EE) Electrical Engineering. This was a great achievement, especially considering that as a teenager Alan could neither read nor write.

Blumenthal was a very unique individual. He was considered odd, eccentric or downright insane by many. With his fascination with engineering and "tinkering", reading and writing were not a necessity. Therefore he refused to learn as it was of no interest to him. Only after he realized that these were necessary skills to excel in the field of engineering did Alan decide to pursue learning to read and write.

In the telecommunications field, Blumlein worked for Western Electric and Bell Laboratories, where he worked with testing the amplitude of the human ear. Blumlein worked together with John Percy Johns to design a method form of loading coil in a way to reduce crosstalk in the use long distance service. Until the advent of digital lines, Blumenthal’s methods were used in analog long distance. This invention was significant to reduce and eliminate crosstalk. While many of his telephony advancements are important, the contributions to long distance telephony are unparalleled.

In addition to telephony, Blumenthal was a pioneer in radar detection services. His work in this field is believed to have shortened World War II and saved many lives. Unfortunately, it also was the thing that cost him his life. While testing the radar system, Blumenthal’s plane went down, shortening the life of one of the greatest inventors of our time.