Ernst Fredrik Werner Alexanderson



  1. The world's first radio programme
  2. 344 patents
  3. The station at Grimeton, Sweden
  4. The first television play
  5. Knight of the Order of the Northern Star
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Even during his lifetime, he received numerous tokens of appreciation. For a while he was President of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, which awarded him its Edison Medal in 1944. In 1924 he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and in 1934 of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1938 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Uppsala, and in 1948 an honorary doctorate by the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. In 1944, he was awarded the Cedergren Medal for his outstanding technical writing in the field of electrical engineering. The medal was first awarded in 1914, to Charles Proteus Steinmetz. In 1925 he became a Knight of the Order of the Northern Star, and, also in that year, a Knight of the Polish order of Polonia Restituta. These are only a few examples of the distinctions he received over the years.

Ernst Alexanderson was honoured posthumously in 1983, when he was elected, for his invention of the high-frequency alternator, to join the ranks of distinguished inventors in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

His broad knowledge, his outstanding personal qualities, and his close contacts with scientists and engineers booth in the USA and Europe over his long and active life make him a central figure in the many branches of electrical engineering during the first half of the 20th century.

No one could have greater claim to the title of "The Complete Chief Engineer"

by Bengt V Nilsson
Webmaster: angel@telemuseum.se 1996-06-24