Gladys Kathleen Parkin
Early female radio operator and youngest to earn first-class license.
Gladys Kathleen Parkin was born on September 27, 1900, at the Flagstaff Hotel in Bolinas, California, which was run by her parents, John Parkin and Hannah Marie Bennett Parkin. Before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed the property, her family moved to San Rafael, California.
Her interest in wireless telegraphy began when she was five years old. For six years, she and her brother John operated an amateur wireless station in their San Rafael home—one of the first such stations in California. She held an amateur radio license for six years before deciding, on a whim, to try for a government license just to see if she could pass. On April 13, 1916, while a fifteen-year-old student at Dominican College in San Rafael, she passed the examination with a high score and obtained a first-class commercial radio operator’s license from the United States Government, with the call sign 6SO. This license allowed her to operate any grade of wireless station and to work on ships. At the time, she was the youngest female applicant ever examined by the Government to succeed, the third woman overall to pass the first-class exam, and the first woman in California to do so.
Parkin built all her own equipment, including a ¼ kilowatt spark-gap transmitter. She appeared on the cover of the October 1916 issue of *Electrical Experimenter*. In an article titled "The Feminine Wireless Amateur," she said that wireless telegraphy was a fascinating study that girls could easily take up, noting it was more interesting than telephone or telegraph work. She learned the code by practicing a few minutes each day on a buzzer and found it easy to obtain her license. She believed everyone should know the code, as it could save lives in a shipboard emergency, and that interest in wireless went beyond the code—one could learn to make instruments, as she had done.
She continued her career with her brothers John and Richard in the family business, Parkin Manufacturing Company, which built and operated wireless instruments in San Rafael. By age 25, she was known to nearly every amateur radio enthusiast in her district, maintaining an active interest in radio development and its future possibilities. She died on August 3, 1990.
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 1900-09-27
- Birth Place
- Bolinas, California, US
- Death Date
- 1990-08-03
- Death Place
- Marin County, California, US
- Known For
- Wireless radio operator
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Parkin was born at the Flagstaff Hotel in Bolinas, California, owned by her parents John Parkin and Hannah Marie Bennett Parkin. The family moved to San Rafael, California before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed the property. She became interested in wireless telegraphy at age five and operated an amateur wireless station in her home for six years with her brother John; theirs was one of the first wireless stations in California. On April 13, 1916, while a fifteen-year-old high school student at Dominican College in San Rafael, she obtained a first-class commercial radio operator's license from the United States Government with the call sign 6SO. The license entitled her to operate any grade of wireless station and to secure employment on vessels. She was the youngest successful female applicant for a radio license ever examined by the Government at that time. Prior to receiving her professional license, she held an amateur radio license for six years. She applied for the government license on a whim, just to see whether she could pass, and passed the examination with a high score. She was the third woman to successfully pass the examination for a first-class radio license, and the first woman in California. Parkin designed all her own instruments, including a ¼ kilowatt spark-gap transmitter.
Reader's Guide
Parkin's significance lies in her early achievement as a female radio operator at a time when the field was dominated by men. She was featured on the cover of the October 1916 issue of Electrical Experimenter, where she discussed wireless telegraphy as a vocation and hobby for women, noting that she learned the code by practicing a few minutes each day on a buzzer and found it easy to obtain her first-grade commercial government license. She continued her career working with her brothers, John and Richard, in the family radio business, Parkin Manufacturing Company, manufacturing and operating wireless instruments in San Rafael, California. By the age of 25, she was known by virtually every amateur radio-fan in her district, as she kept up an active interest in radio development and its future possibilities. Her legacy includes being one of the earliest women to demonstrate that wireless telegraphy was accessible and interesting for girls, and her self-designed equipment exemplified the hands-on nature of early amateur radio.
Did You Know?
- She obtained her first-class commercial radio operator's license at age 15 on April 13, 1916.
- She designed her own ¼ kilowatt spark-gap transmitter.
More in Amateur Radio People, Part 3 1-24
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