Lawrence C. F. Horle

Lawrence C. F. Horle (1892 to 1950) was an American radio engineer remembered above all for bringing order to the vocabulary and the rating practices of the early radio industry. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1914 and taught there until 1916. During the First World War he served the United States Navy as an expert radio aide. He later held senior engineering posts at the de Forest Radio Telephone and Telegraph Company, the Federal Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Federal Telephone Manufacturing Company, and he consulted for the radio laboratory of the Department of Commerce at the Bureau of Standards. He served as chief engineer of the Radio and Television Manufacturers Association and was president of the Institute of Radio Engineers in 1940. In 1948 the Institute awarded him its Medal of Honor for standardization work, particularly on electron tubes, and for guiding many technical committees to effective results.