John H. DeWitt Jr.

Lore & Background

DeWitt became an amateur radio operator in 1921, using call sign N4CBC. In 1924, he helped design and install a 100-watt radio transmitter at First Baptist Church in Nashville, which became the area's first commercial radio station. After earning an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University in 1928, he worked at Bell Laboratories before returning to Nashville in 1932 as chief engineer for WSM. During World War II, he served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Evans Signal Laboratories, becoming director in late 1943 and heading Project Diana. After the war, he worked as a consultant to a clear-channel station group and became president of WSM in 1947, retiring in 1968.

Reader's Guide

DeWitt's significance lies in his role as director of Project Diana, which on January 10, 1946, achieved the first successful reception of radio echoes from the Moon, marking the birth of radar astronomy. This experiment demonstrated that radio waves could penetrate the ionosphere and return from a celestial body, opening the field of space communications and radar astronomy. His earlier work as an amateur radio operator and chief engineer at WSM contributed to the development of commercial broadcasting in the southern United States. DeWitt's career bridged amateur radio, commercial broadcasting, military radar, and scientific exploration. He was recognized as a Fellow of the Institute of Radio Engineers, received the Legion of Merit in 1946, and was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 1995. His death occurred exactly 53 years after the Project Diana experiment.

Did You Know?

• He became an amateur radio operator in 1921 with call sign N4CBC.
• He helped design and install a 100-watt radio transmitter that became Nashville's first commercial radio station.
• He died on January 25, 1999, exactly 53 years after making radio history.