Early Pioneers of Electromagnetic Horns: From 1880 to 1960 [Historically Speaking]

Early electromagnetic (EM) horns were developed experimentally, but in the late 1930s, there was a fundamental shift in the approach. Barrow and Chu laid the mathematical foundations of EM horn antennas. An improved theory and basic practical information relating to horns were encapsulated by 1950 in Volume 12 of the Radiation Laboratory Series edited by Samuel Silver [1] and in the book by Schelkunoff and Friis [2]. The contributions of the early pioneers to the theory and design of EM horns dating from the 1880s until the 1960s, when computer methods became feasible, are reviewed in this article.