Alfred H. Grebe
Encyclopedia
Alfred H. Grebe was a pioneer in the radio broadcasting field.

He was born in Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill, Queens
Richmond Hill is a neighborhood in central-southern Queens, New York City, USA. It is bordered by Kew Gardens to the north, Woodhaven and Ozone Park to the west, South Ozone Park to the south and South Jamaica to the east...

 in the borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...

 of Queens, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. At the age of 9 he was given a radio set by his father, and soon came to be such an expert that his science teacher at Public School 88 in Jamaica
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...

 said Alfred knew more than he did. From public school, he went to a training school in Jamaica, and a commercial radio school in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where he conducted his own experiments. By age 15, he became a licensed commercial operator, and went to work as a ship's radio operator. After three years onboard (during which time he traveled as far as India) he returned to Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, where the first commercial station on the island was being built at Sayville
Sayville, New York
Sayville is a hamlet and CDP in Suffolk County, New York, . Located on the south shore of Long Island in the Town of Islip, the population of the CDP was 16,735 at the time of the 2000 census.-History:...

. He got a job as an operator there. Later, because there was currently a radio craze, some friends had him make receivers for them. After making a few sets, he decided to go into commercial production.

In 1914 he issued his first catalog, and set up a factory in Richmond Hill on the same property where his home was located, which soon became able to produce all the components needed to assemble a radio, and which contained research laboratories as well. By 1922 he tore down his home to build a larger factory on the site.

To stimulate public interest, he set up several radio stations: one (WAHG) was identified with his own initials; another (WBOQ) had call letters standing for Borough of Queens. (His WAHG is, through several call letter changes, now WCBS
WCBS (AM)
WCBS , often referred to as "WCBS Newsradio 880" , is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network...

, still a major radio station in New York City.) He set up a broadcasting company called the "Atlantic Broadcasting Corporation" (changing WAHG to WABC on November 1, 1926) which operated his stations until he sold them to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 in January 1929. His manufacturing company, A. H. Grebe and Co. Inc., was renamed Grebe Radio and Television Corporation and moved from Richmond Hill to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

in 1933.

In 1935 he underwent a stomach operation at Post-Graduate Hospital in Manhattan. He became ill after the operation and died after 10 days.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK