Father of FM & TV Stereo dead at 83

Zenith Electronics reports the death of retired engineer Carl Eilers, who headed the company’s effort to develop the stereo FM standard that the FCC adopted in 1961. Two decades later he led the effort to develop TV stereo as well, with the standard adopted by the industry in 1984. Before his retirement he also worked on Zenith’s development of high-definition television (HDTV). Eilers died Friday of a heart attack at his home in River Forest, IL. He was 83.

Over the course of his 50-year career at Zenith, Eilers was granted 21 US patents. He received two technical Emmy Awards for Zenith developments, stereo TV in 1986 and HDTV in 1997.

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