Abstract
1889-1976; Graduate of the University of North Dakota and scientist employed by AT&T, 1917-1954
Administrative/Biographical History
Harry Teodor Nyquist was born February 7, 1889, in Stora Kil Parish, Värmland County, Sweden. His parents were Lars Jonsson Nyquist and Katrina Eriksdotter. He emigrated in 1907 and spent the next ten years completing his education, including a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1914 and a M.S. in 1915 from the University of North Dakota. Nyquist earned a Ph.D. in physics from Yale University in 1917. Upon graduation, he was employed by AT&T and spent the rest of his life working with the Bell System. Nyquist was an expert and pioneer in high speed telegraphy and is best known for inventing the Nyquist diagram and the Nyquist interval. Nyquist received many honors for his contributions in the communication and control field, including: NAE Founders' Medal of Honor (1969), the Ballantine Medal of the Franklin Institute (1960), the IEEE's Medal of Honor (1960), and the ASME Oldenburger Medal (1975). Nyquist retired in 1954 and died April 4, 1976, in Harlingen, Texas.
