Mervin Joe Kelly

Biography

Abstract

Mervin Joe Kelly was President of Bell Laboratories (1925-1959). Other institutional affiliations included Western Electric Company. His research interests included vacuum tubes and solid state physics.

Important Dates

February 14, 1894Birth, Princeton (Mo.).

1914Obtained BS, University of Missouri--Rolla, Rolla (Mo.).

1915Obtained MS, University of Kentucky, Lexington (Ky.).

1918Obtained PhD in Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1918 – 1925Physicist, Western Electric Company, New York (N.Y.).

1925 – 1959Physicist (1925-1930); Director, Vacuum Tube Development (1930-1936); Director of Research (1936-1944); Executive Vice President (1944-1951); Member, Board of Directors (1944-1959); President (1951-1959); and Chair, Board of Directors (1959), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1945Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1947 – 1948Member, Special Committee on Navigation, Research and Development Board, United States Department of Defense.

1950 – 1955Vice-Chair (1950-1954) and Chair (1955), Science Advisory Board, United States Air Force.

1954 – 1955Member, Committee on Business Organization, Hoover Commission (1954-1955) and Chair, Subcommittee on Research Activities in the Department and Related Agencies (1954-1955), United States Department of Defense.

1954 – 1958Member (1954-1958) and Chair (1956), Research Advisory Committee, United States Navy.

1954 – 1962Chair, Statutory Visiting Committee, National Bureau of Standards.

1959 – 1962Research Management Consultant, Bausch & Lomb.

1959 – 1971Research Management Consultant, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

1961 – 1963Special Consultant, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

March 18, 1971Death, Port Saint Lucie (Fla.).

Occupation

Industrial physicist.

Places

Birth

Princeton (Mo.)

Undergraduate Education

Rolla (Mo.)

Graduate Education

Lexington (Ky.)

Chicago (Ill.)

Employment

New York (N.Y.)

Murray Hill (N.J.)

Death

Port Saint Lucie (Fla.)

Subjects

Science and industry.

Solid state physics.

Vacuum-tubes.

Relationships

People

Family

Kelly, Joseph Fenimore

Father.

Kelly, Katherine Milsted

Wife. Married in 1915.

Kelly, Mary Etta Evans

Mother.

Colleagues

Anderson, P. W. (Philip W.), 1923-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ashkin, Arthur, 1922-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bardeen, John

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bode, Hendrik W. (Hendrik Wade), 1905-1982

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Boyle, Willard S., 1924-2011

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Brattain, Walter H. (Walter Houser), 1902-1987

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buchsbaum, Solomon J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Buckley, Oliver Ellsworth, 1887-1959

Both employed at Western Electric Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chynoweth, A. G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Clogston, Albert McCavour

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Conwell, Esther M. (Esther Marley), 1922-2014

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cutler, Cassius Chapin

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Darlington, Sidney, 1906-1997

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

David, Edward E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Davisson, Clinton Joseph, 1881-1958

Both employed at Western Electric Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Feher, George, 1924-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fisk, James B. (James Brown), 1910-1981

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fletcher, Harvey, 1884-1981

Both employed at Western Electric Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Galt, John Kirtland, 1920-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Geballe, Theodore H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hagstrum, Homer D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Herring, William Conyers, 1914-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hopfield, John J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hunsaker, Jerome C. (Jerome Clarke), 1886-1984

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ives, Herbert Eugene, 1882-1953

Both employed at Western Electric Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Jewett, Frank B. (Frank Baldwin), 1879-1949

Both employed at Western Electric Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kittel, Charles

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kompfner, Rudolf, 1909-1977

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kraichnan, Robert H., 1928-2008

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kusch, Polykarp, 1911-1993

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lander, James J., 1914-1996

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lax, Melvin J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pearson, Gerald L. (Gerald Leondus)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pfann, William G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, J. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Raney, William P.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shockley, William, 1910-1989

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Slater, John C. (John Clarke), 1900-1976

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, George E., 1930-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Stillinger, F. H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Suhl, Harry

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Thomas, D. G. (David Gilbert), 1928-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Townes, Charles H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Yariv, Amnon

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Additional

Darrow, Karl K. (Karl Kelchner), 1891-

Hutchisson, Elmer, 1902-

Leverenz, Humboldt W.

McFarlan, Ronald Lyman

Morgan, Stanley Owen, 1900-

Nix, Foster Cary, 1905-

Ohl, Russell S.

White, Addison Hughson, 1909-

Wooldridge, Dean E.

Institutions

Major Positions

Bausch & Lomb Optical Company

Research Management Consultant.

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Physicist; Director, Vacuum Tube Development; Director of Research; Executive Vice President; President; Member, Board of Directors; and Chair, Board of Directors.

IBM Research

Research Management Consultant.

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Special Consultant.

Western Electric Company

Physicist.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

United States. Air Force

Vice-Chair and Chair, Science Advisory Board.

United States. Department of Defense

Member, Special Committee on Navigation, Research and Development Board; Member, Committee on Business Organization, Hoover Commission; and Chair, Subcommittee on Research Activities in the Department and Related Agencies.

United States. National Bureau of Standards

Chair, Statutory Visiting Committee.

United States. Navy

Member and Chair, Research Advisory Committee.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD in Physics (1918).

University of Kentucky. Department of Physics and Astronomy

Obtained MS (1915).

University of Missouri -- Rolla. Department of Physics

Obtained BS (1914).

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

AT&T Archives and History Center records, 1869- present.

AT & T Archives and History Center

5 Reinman Road, Warren, NJ 07060, USA

Lillian Hoddeson addition to papers, 1913-2006.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Lillian Hoddeson papers, 1904-2001.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Michael Riordan's research materials for "Crystal Fire," 1900-2009.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview Addison Hughson White, 1976 September 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Dean E. Wooldridge, 1976 August 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Elmer Hutchisson, 1970 October 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Foster Cary Nix, 1975 June 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Gerald Leondus Pearson, 1976 August 23 and 8 April 1980.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Humboldt Walter Leverenz, 1979 July 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with James Brown Fisk, 1976 June 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Katharine Milsted Kelly, 1976 July 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Ronald Lyman McFarlan, 1979 December 18.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Russell S. Ohl, 1976 August 19 and 20.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Stanley Owen Morgan, 1975 July 3.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with William Shockley, 1974 September 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Radar : reprinted from the Bell Telephone Magazine for Winter 1945-46 / Information Department of American Telephone and Telegraph Co. ; Kelly, Mervin J. ; Lack, Frederick R.

Subject

"Mervin Joe Kelly: 1894-1971", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

Crystal Fire: The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1997)

Mervin J. Kelly Physics Today obituary.