William David Coolidge

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William David Coolidge (October 23, 1873–February 3, 1975) was an American physicist. In the early days of his employment as a researcher for the General Electric Company, he conducted critical experiments that led to the use of tungsten as filaments in light bulbs. In 1913 he invented the Coolidge tube, an improved cathode for use in X-ray machines that allowed for more intense visualization of deep-seated anatomy and tumors. The Coolidge tube, which also utilized a tungsten filament, was a major development in the then-nascent medical specialty of radiology, and its basic design is still in use.

Coolidge went to work as a researcher for General Electric in 1905. Coolidge eventually became the director of the General Electric Research Laboratory and a vice-president of the corporation. In 1975 he was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, shortly before his death at age 101.

[edit] Patents

• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1211092 , "X-ray tube"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1215116 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1250093 , "Stereoscopic x-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1310061 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1365638 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1394143 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1409989 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1430550 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1437290 , "X-ray tube shield"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1502907 , "X-ray device"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1529344 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1541627 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1543654 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1550506 , "X-ray apparatus and method"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1550507 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1600867 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1655455 , "X-ray apparatus"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1659133 , "X-ray device"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1714975 , "X-ray anode"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1917099 , "X-ray tube"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1946312 , "X-ray tube"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1967869 , "X-ray device"
• Coolidge, U.S. Patent 1971812 , "X-ray device"

[edit] External links

• National Academy of Sciences Memorial Biography of Coolidge
• The Cathode Ray Tube site
• William Coolidge's Case File at The Franklin Institute with info about his 1926 Franklin Award for the x-ray tube