Scanning our past from the Netherlands: Bernard Tellegen and the pentode valve

Just over 30 years ago, it was announced that the IEEE was awarding the 1973 Edison Medal to a non-American for the first time. This prized recognition for "a career of unusual distinction" was awarded to B.D.H. Tellegen, specifically "for a creative career of significant achievement in electrical circuit theory, including the invention of the gyrator." This was just one more milestone in a very productive life and professional career that included pioneering developmental work early in his career on the vacuum tube known in Europe as the pentode valve.