Edwin H. Colpitts

Edwin H. Colpitts
BornJanuary 19, 1872
DiedMarch 6, 1949 (1949-03-07) (aged 77)
Orange, New Jersey, United States
CitizenshipUnited States–Canadian
Alma materMount Allison University
Harvard University
Known forColpitts oscillator
AwardsElliott Cresson Medal (1948)
Scientific career
FieldsElectronic engineer
InstitutionsWestern Electric
Bell Labs
US Army Signal Corps
Academic advisorsJohn Trowbridge

Edwin Henry Colpitts (January 19, 1872 – March 6, 1949) was a communications pioneer best known for his invention of the Colpitts oscillator. As research branch chief for Western Electric in the early 1900s, he and scientists under his direction achieved significant advances in the development of oscillators and vacuum tube push–pull amplifiers. In 1915, his team successfully demonstrated the first transatlantic radio telephone. Colpitts died at home in 1949 in Orange, New Jersey, United States and his body was interred in Point de Bute, New Brunswick, Canada. He was survived by his wife Grace Penney Colpitts and his son Donald B. Colpitts.