Baer, Ralph Henry (32887607): Difference between revisions

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== Biography ==

Ralph Henry Baer was born Rudolph Baer on 8 March 1922 in Rodalben, in the Pirmasens region of southwestern Germany. ~~His~~ Jewish family ~~escaped Nazi Germany and settled in~~ New York City. He taught himself electronics through a National Radio Institute correspondence course, ~~worked~~ as a radio ~~repairman~~, and ran radio service shops on the East Side before the draft.

Ralph Henry Baer was born Rudolph Baer on 8 March 1922 in Rodalben, in the Pirmasens region of southwestern Germany, to Leo and Lotte (Kirschbaum) Baer; his father worked in a shoe factory in Pirmasens. At fourteen he was expelled from school under Nazi anti-Jewish laws and had to attend an all-Jewish school. Fearing growing persecution, the family left for New York City in 1938, two months before Kristallnacht. Baer first worked in a factory for twelve dollars a week, then taught himself electronics through a National Radio Institute correspondence course, graduating as a radio service technician in 1940, and ran radio service shops on the East Side before the draft.

Inducted in March 1943, he reported through Grand Central Terminal to Fort Dix and began combat-engineer training in Virginia that April. In early February 1944 he crossed on the British freighter ''Mataroa'' with a group of military-intelligence graduates that included [[Mauksch, Hans O. (32666529)|Hans Otto Mauksch]].

Inducted in March 1943, he reported through Grand Central Terminal to Fort Dix and began combat-engineer training in Virginia that April. He was naturalized in Hagerstown, Maryland, on 5 October 1943 and trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] with [[:Category:Class 10|Class 10]] (order of battle). In early February 1944 he crossed on the British freighter ''Mataroa'' with a group of military-intelligence graduates that included [[Mauksch, Hans O. (32666529)|Hans Otto Mauksch]], and he was assigned to military intelligence at U.S. Army headquarters in London.

In England the group worked first around Bristol and from May 1944 at Tidworth on the Salisbury Plain. With Mauksch, Baer helped build a German-weapons instructional collection and lecture program; their courses reached large numbers of American and British troops staging for the Continent, and a ''Yank'' magazine feature of 3 November 1944 focused on Mauksch’s demonstrations. Separated by faulty orders in late May 1944, Baer missed the group’s early Normandy movement but was recovered to Tidworth. Later he joined the instructional work in Normandy; on 20 April 1945 a nearby German ammunition dump was sabotaged and burned. He was discharged in New York on 2 April 1946 with a Bronze Star for meritorious service (along with Good Conduct and European-theater awards he already held overseas).

In England the group worked first around Bristol and from May 1944 at Tidworth on the Salisbury Plain. With Mauksch, Baer helped build a German-weapons instructional collection and lecture program; their courses reached large numbers of American and British troops staging for the Continent, and a ''Yank'' magazine feature of 3 November 1944 focused on Mauksch’s demonstrations. Separated by faulty orders in late May 1944, Baer missed the group’s early Normandy movement but was recovered to Tidworth. Later he joined the instructional work in Normandy; on 20 April 1945 a nearby German ammunition dump was sabotaged and burned. He was discharged in New York on 2 April 1946 with a Bronze Star for meritorious service (along with Good Conduct and European-theater awards he already held overseas). On his return he gave the large collection of weapons he had amassed to museums in Aberdeen, Maryland; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Fort Riley, Kansas.

~~After~~ the ~~war~~ Baer earned a bachelor of science in television engineering from the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago (1949) and ~~built a career as an electronics~~ engineer and ~~inventor~~. ~~His interactive-~~television ~~experiments led~~ to the first home video game console and ~~recognition as~~ the father of video games; President George W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation on 13 February 2006. He died in Manchester, New Hampshire, on 6 December 2014.

With the G.I. Bill, Baer earned a bachelor of science in television engineering from the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1949. He was chief engineer at the electro-medical firm Wappler, Inc., senior engineer at Loral Electronics in the Bronx from 1951, and chief engineer and later vice president of Transitron in New York City from 1952 to 1956. He married Dena Whinston in 1952; she died in 2006. After briefly running his own company, he joined the defense contractor Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1956, where he oversaw some 500 engineers on military electronics until he retired in 1987.

At Sanders in 1966 Baer began exploring games played on a television set, an idea he had first had at Loral in 1951. With engineers Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch he built the "Brown Box" prototype, patented in 1973 and licensed in 1971 to Magnavox, which released it in September 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. With Howard J. Morrison he later developed the electronic game Simon (1978) for Milton Bradley, and from 1983 he invented toys and games with Bob Pelovitz of Acsiom. By his death he held more than 150 patents and was widely called the father of video games. President George W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation on 13 February 2006, the year he gave prototypes and papers to the Smithsonian Institution; he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2010 and received the IEEE Edison Medal in 2014. He died at his home in Manchester, New Hampshire, on 6 December 2014. His workshop is on permanent display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and in 2019 a statue of him was dedicated in Manchester's Arms Park, renamed Baer Square.

== Research notes ==

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* 8 March 1922 — Born Rudolph Baer in Rodalben, Germany (Pirmasens region).

* 1938 — Emigrated with his family to New York City.

* 1940 — Graduated from the National Radio Institute as a radio service technician.

* March 1943 — Inducted; Fort Dix; combat-engineer training in Virginia.

* July–September 1943 — Camp Ritchie Class 10 (order of battle).

* 5 October 1943 — Naturalized in Hagerstown, Maryland.

* Early February 1944 — Sailed on ''Mataroa''; MI group with Hans Otto Mauksch.

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* 2 April 1946 — Discharged in New York; Bronze Star for meritorious service.

* 1949 — B.S., television engineering, American Television Institute of Technology.

* 1956 — Joined Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire.

* September 1972 — Magnavox released the Odyssey, based on his Brown Box.

* 13 February 2006 — National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

* 1 April 2010 — Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

* 6 December 2014 — Died in Manchester, New Hampshire.

* July–September 1943 — Camp Ritchie Class 10 (order of battle).

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@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 == Biography ==
-Ralph Henry Baer was born Rudolph Baer on 8 March 1922 in Rodalben, in the Pirmasens region of southwestern Germany. His Jewish family escaped Nazi Germany and settled in New York City. He taught himself electronics through a National Radio Institute correspondence course, worked as a radio repairman, and ran radio service shops on the East Side before the draft.
+Ralph Henry Baer was born Rudolph Baer on 8 March 1922 in Rodalben, in the Pirmasens region of southwestern Germany, to Leo and Lotte (Kirschbaum) Baer; his father worked in a shoe factory in Pirmasens. At fourteen he was expelled from school under Nazi anti-Jewish laws and had to attend an all-Jewish school. Fearing growing persecution, the family left for New York City in 1938, two months before Kristallnacht. Baer first worked in a factory for twelve dollars a week, then taught himself electronics through a National Radio Institute correspondence course, graduating as a radio service technician in 1940, and ran radio service shops on the East Side before the draft.
-Inducted in March 1943, he reported through Grand Central Terminal to Fort Dix and began combat-engineer training in Virginia that April. In early February 1944 he crossed on the British freighter ''Mataroa'' with a group of military-intelligence graduates that included [[Mauksch, Hans O. (32666529)|Hans Otto Mauksch]].
+Inducted in March 1943, he reported through Grand Central Terminal to Fort Dix and began combat-engineer training in Virginia that April. He was naturalized in Hagerstown, Maryland, on 5 October 1943 and trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] with [[:Category:Class 10|Class 10]] (order of battle). In early February 1944 he crossed on the British freighter ''Mataroa'' with a group of military-intelligence graduates that included [[Mauksch, Hans O. (32666529)|Hans Otto Mauksch]], and he was assigned to military intelligence at U.S. Army headquarters in London.
-In England the group worked first around Bristol and from May 1944 at Tidworth on the Salisbury Plain. With Mauksch, Baer helped build a German-weapons instructional collection and lecture program; their courses reached large numbers of American and British troops staging for the Continent, and a ''Yank'' magazine feature of 3 November 1944 focused on Mauksch’s demonstrations. Separated by faulty orders in late May 1944, Baer missed the group’s early Normandy movement but was recovered to Tidworth. Later he joined the instructional work in Normandy; on 20 April 1945 a nearby German ammunition dump was sabotaged and burned. He was discharged in New York on 2 April 1946 with a Bronze Star for meritorious service (along with Good Conduct and European-theater awards he already held overseas).
+In England the group worked first around Bristol and from May 1944 at Tidworth on the Salisbury Plain. With Mauksch, Baer helped build a German-weapons instructional collection and lecture program; their courses reached large numbers of American and British troops staging for the Continent, and a ''Yank'' magazine feature of 3 November 1944 focused on Mauksch’s demonstrations. Separated by faulty orders in late May 1944, Baer missed the group’s early Normandy movement but was recovered to Tidworth. Later he joined the instructional work in Normandy; on 20 April 1945 a nearby German ammunition dump was sabotaged and burned. He was discharged in New York on 2 April 1946 with a Bronze Star for meritorious service (along with Good Conduct and European-theater awards he already held overseas). On his return he gave the large collection of weapons he had amassed to museums in Aberdeen, Maryland; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Fort Riley, Kansas.
-After the war Baer earned a bachelor of science in television engineering from the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago (1949) and built a career as an electronics engineer and inventor. His interactive-television experiments led to the first home video game console and recognition as the father of video games; President George W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation on 13 February 2006. He died in Manchester, New Hampshire, on 6 December 2014.
+With the G.I. Bill, Baer earned a bachelor of science in television engineering from the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1949. He was chief engineer at the electro-medical firm Wappler, Inc., senior engineer at Loral Electronics in the Bronx from 1951, and chief engineer and later vice president of Transitron in New York City from 1952 to 1956. He married Dena Whinston in 1952; she died in 2006. After briefly running his own company, he joined the defense contractor Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1956, where he oversaw some 500 engineers on military electronics until he retired in 1987.
+At Sanders in 1966 Baer began exploring games played on a television set, an idea he had first had at Loral in 1951. With engineers Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch he built the "Brown Box" prototype, patented in 1973 and licensed in 1971 to Magnavox, which released it in September 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. With Howard J. Morrison he later developed the electronic game Simon (1978) for Milton Bradley, and from 1983 he invented toys and games with Bob Pelovitz of Acsiom. By his death he held more than 150 patents and was widely called the father of video games. President George W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation on 13 February 2006, the year he gave prototypes and papers to the Smithsonian Institution; he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2010 and received the IEEE Edison Medal in 2014. He died at his home in Manchester, New Hampshire, on 6 December 2014. His workshop is on permanent display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and in 2019 a statue of him was dedicated in Manchester's Arms Park, renamed Baer Square.
 == Research notes ==
@@ Line 161: / Line 163: @@
 <div class="soldier-timeline-body">
 * 8 March 1922 — Born Rudolph Baer in Rodalben, Germany (Pirmasens region).
+* 1938 — Emigrated with his family to New York City.
+* 1940 — Graduated from the National Radio Institute as a radio service technician.
 * March 1943 — Inducted; Fort Dix; combat-engineer training in Virginia.
-* July–September 1943 — Camp Ritchie Class 10 (order of battle).
 * 5 October 1943 — Naturalized in Hagerstown, Maryland.
 * Early February 1944 — Sailed on ''Mataroa''; MI group with Hans Otto Mauksch.
@@ Line 170: / Line 173: @@
 * 2 April 1946 — Discharged in New York; Bronze Star for meritorious service.
 * 1949 — B.S., television engineering, American Television Institute of Technology.
+* 1956 — Joined Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire.
+* September 1972 — Magnavox released the Odyssey, based on his Brown Box.
 * 13 February 2006 — National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
+* 1 April 2010 — Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
 * 6 December 2014 — Died in Manchester, New Hampshire.
+* July–September 1943 — Camp Ritchie Class 10 (order of battle).
 </div>
 </div><div style="clear: both;"></div>