Harold Stephen Black Encyclopedia Article

Harold Stephen Black

The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.

(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.

The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.

The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.

All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.

Harold Stephen Black

1898-1983

American electrical engineer who revolutionized the telecommunications industry with his method of eliminating distortion in amplification. Harold Stephen Black was born in Leominster, Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1921, and several years later received an honorary doctorate in engineering from Worcester Tech. After graduation, he accepted a job with the Western Electric Company, the forerunner of Bell Telephone Laboratories. While there, he discovered the principles for his negative-feedback amplifier, which fed systems output back into the input, producing amplification virtually without distortion. His principles were later used in telephones, radar, weaponry, and electronics.