Elmer H. Wavering (April 22, 1907 – November 20, 1998) was an American automotive engineer and president of Motorola. He is known as the father of modern automotive electronics.[1][2]
Early life
Elmer H. Wavering was born in Quincy, Illinois, on April 22, 1907.[3][4][5][6] At the age of 14, he had already created his first radio.[2] In high school, he worked at Quincy Radio Laboratory, a radio parts store, run by Bill Lear.[4][5]
Inspired by a conversation with their girlfriends on an evening drive, Wavering and Lear worked on a car radio prototype.[4] They met Paul Galvin at a radio convention in Chicago and in 1930, Wavering and Lear joined Galvin at Galvin Manufacturing (later Motorola). There, Wavering and Lear together developed the first commercially successful car radio calling it the Motorola.[4][5] Wavering and Galvin traveled around the country selling radios and teaching new dealers how to install them.[7] In 1932, Paul Galvin selected Wavering to lead Motorola's car radio and police two-way communications businesses. He was later promoted to vice president of the automotive products division.[5] In the 1940s, he also worked on developing the intermittent windshield wiper.[4] In 1944, he became the vice president of auto products.[4]
He invented the first automotive alternator and mass-produced it at Motorola.[2][4][8] In the 1950s, Wavering presented a concept car that included an alternator, a 12-volt battery, electronic ignition, and computerized control.[2][5] In 1964, he was elected president and chief operating officer of Motorola.[5] He later became vice chairman.[4] He remained at Motorola until he retired in 1972.[5]
World War II
During World War II, Wavering led a national effort to produce artificial quartz out of silica sand for use in radio and radar.[4][5] He also co-invented the Handie Talkie (later the Walkie-Talkie), a mobile two-way radio communication device.[4]
Wavering met Vera Deremiah, a teacher from St. Louis, Missouri, on a sales trip and they married on June 25, 1935.[4][9][10] His wife died in 1988.[11] Together, they had one daughter, Lynne, in 1942.[4][5]
Death
Wavering died on November 20, 1998, in Naples, Florida, at the age of 91.[5]
