It's time for an adventure! This week we listen for messages from the past as we explore the invention of the Walkie-Talkie using the Al Gross Papers (Ms.2001.011). 

Al Gross was born in Toronto, Ontario, but was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Known as the father of wireless communications, Gross invented the walkie-talkie in 1938* at age 20 and by 1941 the Office of Strategic Services (now known as the CIA) was eager to develop a lightweight, portable communications system for air-to-ground contact. The OSS recruited Gross and he devised the "Joan-Eleanor System" using Hertzian radio waves which were virtually impossible to intercept even from behind enemy lines. Gross' invention was a huge success and was praised by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff as being one of the most successful wireless intelligence gathering methods ever employed.

After the war, Gross formed the Citizens Radio Corporation and sold his units to the public, mostly to farmers and the US Coast Guard. In 1949 Gross had another breakthrough invention, the telephone pager. That same year Gross attended a medical conference in Philadelphia to introduce the pager system to doctors. Unfortunately, many of the doctors were apprehensive of the device stating it would interfere with their leisure time or upset their patients. The pager never caught on for Gross, proving he was decades ahead of his time.

Gross continued to invent for his entire lifespan, compiling 12 patents. But Gross' patents expired long before the world was ready for pagers, cell phones, and CB radio. Instead of reaping the monetary benefits of his inventions, Gross is rich in awards and recognitions. Most recently, Gross became the sixth person to be awarded the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Eight months later on December 28, 2000, Gross died at his Arizona home.

*The Canadian inventor Donald Hings was the first to create a portable radio signaling system for his employer CM&S in 1937. He called the system a "packset", although it later became known as a "walkie-talkie".

Join our community collections archivist, Anthony Wright de Hernandez, for a livestream on Twitch! Every week we explore and discuss materials from Special Collections and University Archives covering topics including university history, NASA pioneers, architecture, science fiction, cooking, LGBTQ+ history, Black history, urban legends, and more. Recordings of previous streams are available on the Libraries' Youtube page.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, welcome! Please email library-event-accessibility@groups.office365.vt.edu at least 10 days prior to the event.