Person
Harris, Leonard Michael (1908 - 2003)
OBE
- Born
- 6 May 1908
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 5 May 2003
North Balwyn, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Radio engineer
Summary
Leonard Harris joined the Postmaster-General's Department in1926 and remained there for his entire working life. Initially he was a cadet engineer, but after completing his Bachelor of Science in 1930 was appointed engineer within the research laboratories. Harris went on to produce a microphone used for ABC radio's inaugural broadcast, set up the ABC studios in Canberra and Sydney and worked on the enlargement of the Bass Strait submarine cable. In 1959 Harris moved to the long-line equipment section where he was responsible for contracting Australia's first broadband system. He was also founder of the Radio Research Board which funded radio research in Australian universities.
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Details
Chronology
- 1930
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
- 1930 - 1973
- Career position - Research Engineer in the Commonwealth Post Master General's Department (PMG)
- 1939
- Career position - Set up the ABC studios in Canberra and Sydney
- 1955 - 1960?
- Supervising Engineer for Long Line Equipment in the Commonwealth Post Master General's Department (PMG)
- 1960 - 1964
- Career position - Assistant Engineer-in-Chief of Research in the Commonwealth Post Master General's Department (PMG)
- 1964 - 1973
- Career position - First Assistant Director-General of Planning and Research in the Commonwealth Post Master General's Department (PMG)
- 1970 - 1975
- Career position - Chairman, Radio Research Board
- 1972
- Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Published resources
Newspaper Articles
- Harris, Adrian, 'Obituary: Leonard Michael Harris, OBE, Research Engineer', The Age (2003). Details
Resources
- 'Harris, Leonard Michael (19080506-20030505)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1476445. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Harris, Leonard Michael', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P001680p.htm. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 1 March 2018
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education