Percy Spencer
Awards & Honours
1
Awards Won
3
Honours
2
Records
Spencer's recognition comes from the engineering world rather than award shows. His induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame places him among the inventors of the telephone, the light bulb, and the transistor, a fitting company for the man who made the microwave oven practical. The Atomic Heritage Foundation and the University of Maine keep his story on the record, and his 150-plus patents stand as a body of work that few inventors match. The microwave oven itself, included in TIME's Best Inventions of 2007 retrospective, is the everyday monument to his curiosity.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee
Inducted for his invention of the microwave oven and contributions to magnetron technology.
Profile at Atomic Heritage Foundation's Nuclear Museum
Institutional profile recognizing his engineering contributions.
Research guide at University of Maine
Archival and research guide dedicated to his life and work.
Records & Feats
Held more than 150 patents
Spencer's patent record covers magnetrons, microwave heating, and other electronics, a prolific output for a self-taught engineer.
Invented the first practical microwave oven
His 1945 discovery led to the Radarange, the first commercial microwave oven, introduced in 1947.