Born in the country, north of Dayton, Ohio, in 1867, of Quaker parents. Spent boyhood on a farm near Richmond, Indiana. Attended country school; a nearby high school; and Earlham College. "Explored" wheatfields and timber regions of northwest, and cattle ranges and mining camps of southwest United States. Came to Washington, D. C., early in 1890, and served as secretary to Sumner I. Kimball, U.S. Life Saving Service. Resigned in 1895 to take up inventing as a profession. Built the prototype of the motion picture projector now in every picture theatre the world over; developed the spiral-wound paraffined all-paper liquid container; and produced the first photographs by radio, and mechanism for viewing distant scenes by radio, i.e., television. Has over four hundred patents, American and foreign; and maintains a private laboratory in Washington. He is a member of the Franklin Institute, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and founder of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. Has several times been honored by scientific and other bodies for original research and attainment.