1873 - 1961
Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first practical electronic amplifier, the three-element "Audion" triode vacuum tube in 1906. This helped start the Electronic Age, and enabled the development of the electronic oscillator. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Lee de Forest has received more than 762,329 page views. His biography is available in 48 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 46 in 2019). Lee de Forest is the 124th most popular inventor (up from 125th in 2019), the 1,569th most popular biography from United States (down from 1,513th in 2019) and the 29th most popular American Inventor.
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Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
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Among inventors, Lee de Forest ranks 124 out of 354. Before him are Clément Ader, Clive Sinclair, John Kay, Richard Jordan Gatling, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, and Zénobe Gramme. After him are Josef Ressel, Gideon Sundback, Elisha Gray, Robert Adler, Hugo Schmeisser, and Henri Giffard.
1841 - 1925
HPI: 59.41
Rank: 118
1940 - 2021
HPI: 59.38
Rank: 119
1704 - 1779
HPI: 59.28
Rank: 120
1818 - 1903
HPI: 59.27
Rank: 121
1753 - 1809
HPI: 59.27
Rank: 122
1826 - 1901
HPI: 59.22
Rank: 123
1873 - 1961
HPI: 59.11
Rank: 124
1793 - 1857
HPI: 59.00
Rank: 125
1880 - 1954
HPI: 58.95
Rank: 126
1835 - 1901
HPI: 58.84
Rank: 127
1913 - 2007
HPI: 58.75
Rank: 128
1884 - 1953
HPI: 58.55
Rank: 129
1825 - 1882
HPI: 58.45
Rank: 130
Among people born in 1873, Lee de Forest ranks 35. Before him are Hans von Euler-Chelpin, Alice Guy-Blaché, Ivanoe Bonomi, Alexander Bogdanov, Ma Barker, and Constantin Carathéodory. After him are Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, Charles Péguy, Ray Ewry, Tullio Levi-Civita, Melitta Bentz, and Hayim Nahman Bialik. Among people deceased in 1961, Lee de Forest ranks 28. Before him are Grandma Moses, Eero Saarinen, Luigi Einaudi, Akiba Rubinstein, Wolfgang von Trips, and Paul Wittgenstein. After him are Blaise Cendrars, Arthur Drewry, Karl Korsch, Mukhtar Auezov, Princess Isabelle of Orléans, and Maria Valtorta.
1873 - 1964
HPI: 61.13
Rank: 29
1873 - 1968
HPI: 61.04
Rank: 30
1873 - 1951
HPI: 60.26
Rank: 31
1873 - 1928
HPI: 60.08
Rank: 32
1873 - 1935
HPI: 59.47
Rank: 33
1873 - 1950
HPI: 59.12
Rank: 34
1873 - 1961
HPI: 59.11
Rank: 35
1873 - 1933
HPI: 59.06
Rank: 36
1873 - 1914
HPI: 59.03
Rank: 37
1873 - 1937
HPI: 58.77
Rank: 38
1873 - 1941
HPI: 58.75
Rank: 39
1873 - 1950
HPI: 58.71
Rank: 40
1873 - 1934
HPI: 58.71
Rank: 41
1860 - 1961
HPI: 60.43
Rank: 22
1910 - 1961
HPI: 60.22
Rank: 23
1874 - 1961
HPI: 60.04
Rank: 24
1880 - 1961
HPI: 59.81
Rank: 25
1928 - 1961
HPI: 59.66
Rank: 26
1887 - 1961
HPI: 59.43
Rank: 27
1873 - 1961
HPI: 59.11
Rank: 28
1887 - 1961
HPI: 59.11
Rank: 29
1891 - 1961
HPI: 58.23
Rank: 30
1886 - 1961
HPI: 58.21
Rank: 31
1897 - 1961
HPI: 58.13
Rank: 32
1878 - 1961
HPI: 57.76
Rank: 33
1897 - 1961
HPI: 57.75
Rank: 34
Among people born in United States, Lee de Forest ranks 1,569 out of 18,182. Before him are John Saxon (1935), James Earl Ray (1928), Paul Greengard (1925), Julia Child (1912), Diane Lane (1965), and James Gandolfini (1961). After him are Joseph Nye (1937), George C. Scott (1927), Frederic Edwin Church (1826), Edward W. Morley (1838), Alonzo Church (1903), and Bessie Smith (1894).
1935 - 2020
HPI: 59.14
Rank: 1,563
1928 - 1998
HPI: 59.14
Rank: 1,564
1925 - 2019
HPI: 59.14
Rank: 1,565
1912 - 2004
HPI: 59.13
Rank: 1,566
1965 - Present
HPI: 59.12
Rank: 1,567
1961 - 2013
HPI: 59.12
Rank: 1,568
1873 - 1961
HPI: 59.11
Rank: 1,569
1937 - Present
HPI: 59.11
Rank: 1,570
1927 - 1999
HPI: 59.08
Rank: 1,571
1826 - 1900
HPI: 59.08
Rank: 1,572
1838 - 1923
HPI: 59.07
Rank: 1,573
1903 - 1995
HPI: 59.06
Rank: 1,574
1894 - 1937
HPI: 59.05
Rank: 1,575
Among inventors born in United States, Lee de Forest ranks 29. Before him are Bob Kahn (1938), Robert Noyce (1927), Jacque Fresco (1916), Percy Spencer (1894), Elias Howe (1819), and Richard Jordan Gatling (1818). After him are Elisha Gray (1835), Robert Moog (1934), Josiah Warren (1798), Alfred Vail (1807), Mary Anderson (1862), and Hiram Maxim (1840).
1938 - Present
HPI: 61.53
Rank: 23
1927 - 1990
HPI: 61.06
Rank: 24
1916 - 2017
HPI: 60.59
Rank: 25
1894 - 1970
HPI: 60.05
Rank: 26
1819 - 1867
HPI: 59.57
Rank: 27
1818 - 1903
HPI: 59.27
Rank: 28
1873 - 1961
HPI: 59.11
Rank: 29
1835 - 1901
HPI: 58.84
Rank: 30
1934 - 2005
HPI: 58.12
Rank: 31
1798 - 1874
HPI: 57.69
Rank: 32
1807 - 1859
HPI: 57.49
Rank: 33
1862 - 1953
HPI: 57.08
Rank: 34
1840 - 1916
HPI: 57.04
Rank: 35