PROCEEDINGS OF THE IRE

Haraden PrattWinner of the IRE Foimders Award

Haraden Pratt (A'14-M'17-F'29), Secretary and PastPresident of the IRE, was born in San Francisco, Calif., onJuly 18, 1891. He began his radio career as an amateur in1905, and from 1910 to 1914 was a wireless telegraph operatorand installer of equipment for the United Wireless TelegraphCompany and Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company ofAmerica.

In 1914 he received the B.S. degree in electrical engineer-ing from the University of California, and thereafter becamea construction and operating engineer for the Marconi Com-pany's trans-Pacific radio stations in California.

As an Expert Radio Aide for the Navy Department from1915 to 1920, he was concerned with the construction andmaintenance of its high-powered radio stations. In 1920, hebegan the establishment of the public service radiotelegraphsystem of the Federal Telegraph Company on the WestCoast. In 1925 he constructed and operated a radiotelegraphsystem between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles for theWestern Air Express, the first air mail contractor in thewestern United States. Later he was in charge of developmentwork on radio aids for air navigation at the National Bureauof Standards. In 1928 he became Chief Engineer, and laterVice-President, of Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company.He constructed its world-wide communication system.

For his work during World War II as Chief of the Na-tional Defense Research Committee's Division 13 on Com-munications, Mr. Pratt was awarded a Presidential Certificateof Merit. Immediately after the war, he became Vice-Presi-dent and Chief Engineer of the Commercial Cable Company,All America Cables and Radio, Inc., and the American Cableand Radio Corporation. For many years he held offices inother companies of the International Telephone and Tele-graph Corporation, but retired from these activities in 1951.In October of that year, he received a Presidential appoint-ment to the newly-created post of Telecommunications Ad-visor to the President. He has since retired from governmentservice, and more recently has engaged in consulting services.For a period of twenty-four years he was a member of theUnited States delegations to international radio and telecom-munications conferences.

Mr. Pratt is a member of Sigma Xi. As life member ofVeteran Wireless Operators Association, he was awarded theMarconi Medal of Achievement in 1951. He is a Fellow of theAmerican Institute of Electrical Engineers and the RadioClub of America, an Associate Fellow of the Institute of theAeronautical Sciences, and an honorary life member of theIRE, Australia. In 1944, he received the IRE's Medal ofHonor.

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