I just received an email from John D Holmes. I regret to report that his father, the Inventor of Color Bars,
David D. Holmes Dies
Former Stony Brook Resident
Inventor of Color Bars-Color Television Test Pattern
Chesterfield, N.J., David D Holmes [/url]died Wednesday at Robert-Wood- Johnson University Hospital after a short illness.
After graduating from M.I.T. in 1950 he joined R.C.A. and was one of the pioneers of color television development and transistor applications.
In 1953 he and N. David Larky were issued patent 2,747,525 for the Color Television Test Pattern Generator. This color test pattern, still in wide use today, can be seen on news room monitors throughout the world. This was the world’s first analog color graphic; a picture produced electronically with no light, no lens, no film and no photoelectric surface. There were five related patents generated pertaining to the 525. Through 1956 he had received four Outstanding Achievements in Research awards.
In 1957 he was named Director of Radio Research for R.C.A. and shortly thereafter Technical Director, Project Pangloss Command Communications for Polaris missile launching submarines including the Nautilus.
In 1960 he joined Hazeltine Corp. as Director of Radar Research over seeing Project Defender- Advanced Research Projects Agency- Antimissile Research Advisory Council. Here he devised multidimensional radar systems to acquire and track missile warheads through decoy clouds.
In 1970 he returned to R.C.A. as Coordinator, Independent Research and Development, Missile and Surface Radar Division
In 1973 he was named Manager, R.C.A. Consumer Electronics, Integrated Circuit Development, Solid State division, Somerville N.J
.
In 1976 he was named Director, Television Research at the David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton N.J
. Mr. Holmes began his electrical engineering career after graduating with a B.S.E.E. degree from the University of Maine, Orono in 1946. And an M.S.E.E. from M.I.T. in 1950. From 1947- 1949 he was an electrical engineering instructor at the University of Nebraska where he designed one of the first complete television studios.
In 2004 he was nominated into The Inventors Hall Of Fame.
Among his many awards and patents, in 1987 he received The Distinguished Engineering and Science Award from the University of Maine.
Retiring in 1986, Mr. Holmes resided in Chesterfield, N.J.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy C. Holmes, two daughters, Susan Holmes Brouse and spouse Jeff, Lisa Holmes Murphy and spouse Fran, two sons, John D Holmes and Charles L. Holmes and spouse Jeri and six grandchildren
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John wrote that his father was overjoyed at the article about him:
http://videouniversity.com/tvbarsinvent.shtml
We are all indebted to David for his great contributions to video. Our sincere condolences to his family.
Hal
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Out went Barn and in came color. It was never the same. (Poor Warren.)
