Early Years
Alan Dower Blumlein was born in Hampstead, London, on 29 June 1903. Although he struggled through his school years, he clearly demonstrated an interest in electrical engineering, focusing on books and publications in this field.
At age 18 in October 1921, Blumlein entered the City and Guilds College on a Governor’s scholarship straight into the second year of a four-year course. In July 1923, after only two years, Blumlein graduated with a first-class honours degree in electrical engineering.
Working Life
At age 21 in September 1924, Blumlein joined International Western Electric (IWE) (later becoming Standard Telephones and Cables (STC)), where he worked on reducing cross-talk over long-distance telephone lines, along with many other key telephony and signalling projects. By early 1929, and in less than five years of working for IWE & STC, Blumlein had filed seven patents.
At age 25 in March 1929, Blumlein joined Columbia Gramophone (later merging with The Gramophone Company to create EMI), where he remained employed until his untimely death in 1942. It was during his time at Columbia and EMI that he truly thrived, filing 121 patents over 13 years covering significant advancements in stereo, television, and radar.
Stereo
At age 27 in December 1931, Blumlein filed his most famous patent No. 394.325, titled “Improvements in and relating to sound-transmission, sound-recording and sound reproducing systems”. This patent included 70 individual claims, covering the positioning of a pair of microphones, sound processing from the microphones, and equipment for cutting and recording two channels into a single record groove.
Tragic Death
At age 38 on the 7th June 1942, Alan Blumlein’s life was cut tragically short when a Halifax bomber on which he was testing H2S airborne radar caught fire and crashed, killing Blumlein and the other 10 passengers and crew. Two other key members of the EMI team, Cecil Browne and Frank Blythen, were among those killed. Despite this tragic accident, the development of H2S radar had been in the final stages, and production continued, making a significant contribution to the war effort.
Alan Dower Blumlein was one of the most prolific inventors of the twentieth century, earning a total of 128 patents in his short life. Blumlein’s stereo invention is just one area of his incredible contribution to the world of audio and electrical engineering.
