Wheaton in DuPage County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Site of the World's First Radio Telescope
— Historic Wheaton —
Born in 1911, Reber built a transmitter receiver for amateur radio communications at age 15, using it to contact more than 60 countries, on all continents. He graduated from Wheaton Community High School in 1929 and completed a B.S. degree in electrical engineering at the Armour Institute of Technology in 1933.
While employed as a radio engineer in Chicago, Reber devoted his free time to following up on a scientist's discontinued work concerning static from space. When a price quote to build the radio telescope he had designed proved too costly, Reber built it himself using wooden rafters, galvanized sheet metal, and spare parts from a Ford Model T truck. At some 20 feet high and 31 feet across, it was naturally the subject of great speculation and interest. The local newspaper ran a front page article May 7, 1938 detailing Reber's project, entitled “No Wild Scheme From Mars-But Planned Scientific Experiment.” Reber used his radio telescope until 1947, when it was moved to The U.S. Bureau of Standards.
Reber has continued his work on radio astronomy in a field much changed – and influenced – by his endeavors. His original telescope is on exhibit at the National Radio Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia as a historical monument.
Established as a Wheaton Historic Site in 1999
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1937.
Location. 41° 52.004′ N, 88° 6.532′ W. Marker is in Wheaton, Illinois, in DuPage County. Marker is on Karlskoga Avenue east of North Wheaton Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Wheaton IL 60187, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Warren L. Wheaton Home Site (approx. 0.6 miles away); Marcellus E. Jones Gravesite (approx. 1.1 miles away); Glen Ellyn Main Street Historic District (approx. 2.4 miles away); Cantigny First Division Museum (approx. 2.6 miles away); Stacy’s Tavern (approx. 2.8 miles away); Votes For Women (approx. 4.8 miles away); Fort Payne (approx. 6.9 miles away); Site of the First Frame House in DuPage County (approx. 7.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wheaton.
Also see . . . Grote Reber, Radio Astronomer. NIST brought together an eclectic combination of people and projects that would help birth the field of radio astronomy. It would involve a backyard tinkerer, a former Nazi radar installation, a confidential Defense Department project, and the desire of people living west of the Mississippi River to watch television. (Keith Martin, "Taking Measure" blog, National Institute of Standards and Technology, posted April 18, 2017) (Submitted on August 17, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 17, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 17, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 100 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 17, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.