Albert J. Myer 1828-1880
Albert was born in Newburgh, NY, but grew up in Buffalo. Before entering Geneva College at the age of 13, he worked as a telegrapher. He earned his M.D. in 1851 while working for the New York Telegraph Company. He used the work of his doctoral thesis, A New Sign Language for Deaf Mutes, when he invented aerial telegraphy. He moved to Florida to practice medicine and soon sought a commission in the regular Army as an assistant surgeon; he was transferred to Fort Duncan, TX. While in TX, he perfected his signaling system and later applied for a patent. He invented the wigwag signaling system. After testing his new system, Albert became the first ever Signal officer. Major Myer received orders to Washington D.C. in June 1861 to organize and command the new Signal Corps. As a result of his work, the Signal Corps was formally established in March 1863. Ft. Whipple, VA, the first home of the new Signal Corps was renamed Ft. Myer in his honor in 1881. He is the father of the U.S. Weather Service.
Adolphus Greely 1844-1935
Adolphus Greely enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 serving at Antietam and Fredericksburg. He was detailed to the Signal Corps. In the Signal Corps Weather Bureau, he was considered an expert weather forecaster. He worked in the Midwest on flood control projects. He later led projects to set up telegraph lines in Texas, the Dakota and Montana Territories. In 1881, he was given command of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition to establish a chain of meteorological stations in the Arctic to gather data for the First International Polar Year. The project almost cost him his life, but he and the survivors were rescued and hailed as heroes. In March 1887, Greeley was appointed Chief Signal Officer of the U.S. Army by President Grover Cleveland. As Chief Signal Officer he oversaw construction of telegraph lines in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Alaska and the Philippines. His innovations led to the fielding of wireless telegraphy, airplanes, motorized automobiles and trucks for the Army as well as the first international telecommunication treaties. In 1906, he coordinated the relief efforts after the San Francisco earthquake. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1935.
1865-1934 USMA 1887
On the advice of his grandfather and uncle, young George dropped out of school after eighth grade, but that didn’t stop him from entering West Point and graduating with the Class of 1887. He went on to earn his PhD from Johns Hopkins – the first West Point graduate to earn this advanced degree. He served in the Signal Corps. For four years, he was the military attache in London until May 1916 when he was named the head of the Aviation Section, the original home of aviation for the U.S. Army. He had been interested in aviation since 1907; he had helped make the specifications for the first miitary plane and encourgaed a build-up of air power for WWI. While he was the Chief Signal Officer in 1917, the Air Service expanded from 65 officers to 1,100 men and up to 12,000 officers and 135,000 enlisted men. At this time, headvance wireless technology for the battlefield – radiotelephony used for command and control of military air assets. He authored and edited many article on radio and electricity. Along with a Dartmouth professor, they developed a magneto-orptical streak camera to measure the speed of projectiles inside a cannon and after they left the cannon barrel; this was one of the earliest photonic programs harnessing light. His telephone carrier multiplexing in 1910 earned him election to the National Adacemy of Science in 1919. He created Wired Radio in 1922 which offered piped music to businesses over wires. In 1934, it was renamed “Muzak”. George Squier was granted 65 patents.