Walter Ransom Gail Baker

Walter Ransom Gail Baker (1892 to 1960) was an American electrical engineer and General Electric executive who led the industry committees that set the technical standards for American television. Born in Lockport, New York, he graduated in electrical engineering from Union College in 1916 and took a master degree there in 1919. He joined General Electric in 1916, worked on military radio apparatus in the First World War, contributed to broadcast transmitters including station WGY in Schenectady, and later managed the company radio and television facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He directed the engineering department of the Radio Manufacturers Association, and in 1940 and 1941 he organized and chaired the first National Television System Committee, whose compromise set the picture at 525 lines. He chaired the second committee from 1950 to 1953, which produced the compatible color standard, and he was president of the Institute of Radio Engineers in 1947.