For the Record - A Friend & Associate
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I though this editorial from the September 1960 issue of Electronics World magazine was going to be a eulogy to some dearly departed electronics industry titan, but thankfully it was a changing-of-the-guard announcement. Those of you who have followed the many articles scanned and posted from my copies of vintage Electronics World are familiar with the name Oliver Read (Dr.) as having been the publication's editor for many years (22 in fact, per the article). W.A. Stockton took over Dr. Reads editorial duties when he retired from the position. Dr. Read was a ham radio enthusiast and formerly worked as a designer of amateur radio build-it-yourself kits. He was also one of the few people permitted to witness and report on the Bikini Atoll atom bomb test. For the Record - A Friend & Associate
Editor It is with deepest emotion that we announce that Dr. Oliver Read, Publisher of Electronics World, has retired from the Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. He was the guiding light for this publication for the last 22 years and, more recently, he was both Editor and Publisher of our sister publication, Popular Electronics, as well as being Publisher of HiFi / Stereo Review.
Dr. Oliver Read, editor emeritus. Although we are all sorry to see Ollie leave us, his retirement will give him more time to devote to writing and to electronics product engineering and development, especially in the marine electronics field. It will also give him some time to enjoy his many hobbies. He will not be lost to us completely though, since he will continue to serve as advisor to the Ziff-Davis Electronics Division. Many old-timers, who are still readers of Electronics World, will remember him prior to his days with Ziff-Davis when he was working at Utah Radio developing a completely new line of amateur-radio kits, and writing many articles for this publication. He started as Technical Editor of Radio News (one of our former names) in November, 1938, and then progressed rapidly to be named Managing Editor in October, 1941, Editor in October, 1945, and then Publisher in July, 1956. When he first started with this publication, with its staff of only two other people, it was far from being a profitable enterprise. But by 1944, conditions had changed and we found ourselves the leading publication in our field. Many of our readers, both in and out of the Armed Forces, during the Second World War will remember our famous U. S. Army Signal Corps issue in 1944 as a milestone in the field of publishing. We know that we will never forget his reports of the Bikini A-Bomb test in 1946. This was the fourth atomic explosion, and Ollie was one of those privileged to attend and witness this history-making event. Amateur radio is another field in which he obtained recognition. Many present-day hams will remember Ollie's call, W9ETI, from Chicago and, more recently, W1ETI, from Connecticut. In addition, he was trustee for WA2GNH, Popular Electronics' Amateur Radio Station, which is located right in our New York office. There are those who will remember him for his books. He was author of "The Recording and Reproduction of Sound" and, more recently, co-author of "From Tin Foil to Stereo-Evolution of the Phonograph." Both of these books represented fields in which he was greatly interested in the last few years. Many have seen and enjoyed his collection of old-time phonographs, which he restored as a labor of love. Those of us who are close to him will always remember his kindness, gentleness, and consideration. There is no doubt that we will all miss him since we will not see him each day as we have for many years, but we do know that his future activities will be less hectic than publishing inevitably must be. We are sure that we can speak for his many friends in wishing him good luck in everything that he will be doing.
Posted August 24, 2021 |
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By W. A. Stocklin 