The Life and Works of Alan Dower Blumlein by Robert Alexander, Focal Press,
拢29.99, ISBN 0240515773
IF YOU want to find out about Thomas Edison, you could consult any one of
about 60 books. But look for Alan Blumlein and, until now, you鈥檇 be lucky to
find the merest mention. What, you may ask, did he do? Nothing that affects
you鈥攁s long as you鈥檝e unplugged your personal stereo, turned off the TV,
and resolved never to travel by air or sea. Not only did Blumlein invent stereo,
he was the creative force behind electronic television and radar too.
Why Blumlein鈥檚 life and work has remained an unofficial secret is as
fascinating as the story of his achievements. I should know, because for 25
years I鈥檝e been doing my best to get his name more widely recognised. New
杏吧原创 readers may recall this brought me into conflict with Francis
Thomson, who began writing Blumlein鈥檚 biography in 1972. Thomson was proud he
had researched the Blumlein family history back to the 14th century, and that he
had collected vast quantities of material from those who knew the inventor.
Initially, he worked with the backing of Blumlein鈥檚 family.
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But in the 1980s Blumlein鈥檚 son Simon grew increasingly frustrated by the
lack of progress and Thomson鈥檚 refusal to let anyone else access what he had
collected. Thomson died last year, with Blumlein鈥檚 biography still unpublished.
The whereabouts of the collection are not known.
Then Robert Alexander decided to try his hand. After an abortive attempt to
persuade Thomson to allow him to examine the collection he decided to write a
biography on the strength of information in the public domain. He used
Blumlein鈥檚 128 patents plus all available archives, mainly those of Blumlein鈥檚
old employer EMI.
The strength of Alexander鈥檚 book is also its weakness. Although there are
delightful anecdotes, Alexander鈥檚 analysis of dusty patents inevitably obstructs
the narrative flow. This book may lack mass market appeal, but it is a
painstaking chronicle.
The bare bones of the story are that Blumlein was 25 when he joined Sir Isaac
Shoenberg鈥檚 research team at the Columbia Gramophone Company 鈥攍ater to
form EMI鈥攊n 1929.
Blumlein鈥檚 brief at EMI was to find a way round the patents on electrical
sound recording owned by Bell Labs. He did this and more鈥攈e went on to
design a complete new electrical recording system, which could work in stereo.
He cut two-channel discs and recorded stereo on film. It took decades for the
world to catch up with stereo LPs and Dolby stereo cinema.
In the mid-1930s EMI and the Marconi Radio Company joined forces to develop
an all-electronic TV system to compete with John Logie Baird鈥檚 spinning wheels.
The project was a winner, and Blumlein was a key contributor. In June 1942,
Blumlein flew in a Halifax bomber to test H2S, a scanning radar that produced a
map of the ground, with the new magnetron-microwave-amplifier. The plane
crashed, killing everyone.
The accident was kept secret. After the war Blumlein鈥檚 name remained unknown.
A British engineer, Basil Benzimra, had started to write a biography but died
before achieving his goal. Through extraordinary hard work, Alexander has now
achieved what Benzimra said he wanted to do and 鈥渞aised this man from the
诲别补诲鈥�.
A broader issue of concern remains. There is nothing in law to prevent one
man鈥檚 failure to deliver a biography burying the reputation of another. It鈥檚 a
national tragedy that the Blumlein papers are inaccessible.