Pioneer in developing the electronic organ and electronic piano
Benjamin F. Miessner studied electrical engineering at Purdue from 1913 to 1916. In the late 1920s, he demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit by selling 50 of his patents to the Radio Corporation of America for $750,000. With this capital, he established his own company, Miessner Inventions Inc. Over the next three decades, Miessner emerged as a pioneer in developing electronic instruments, radio receivers, aircraft radios, and phonography, among innovations. One of his notable patents contributed to the Everett Piano Company’s creation of the first electronic organ. In addition, Wurlitzer used a Miessner design to develop its highly successful electronic piano. Upon winding down his company, Miessner sold nearly 150 additional patents, many related to electronics, sound and music. These patents encompassed inventions including an apparatus for adjusting the tension of tennis racket strings, as well as a non-leaking pen.