Sigurd Fergus Varian
Sigurd Fergus Varian (born May 4, 1901 in Syracuse , New York , † October 18, 1961 near Puerto Vallarta , Mexico ) was an American entrepreneur in the electronics industry and with his brother Russell Varian co-founder of Varian Associates .
Life
Varian went to California Polytechnic School after graduating from high school in 1920 , but left without a degree to work as an electrician for the Southern California Edison Company from 1922 . At the same time he was a pilot and the lack of reliable navigation instruments led him and his brother Russell to first (in vain) turn to the development of a radio navigation device and then to the Klystron , the first draft of which his brother presented in 1937. The development took place later at Stanford University (with William Webster Hansen , Edward Ginzton ) and at Sperry Gyroscopes , for which Sigurd worked. In 1948 he and his brother founded their own company, Varian Associates. There, in addition to the klystron, they also developed the then new NMR technology. In 1961, Sigurd Varian, the company's CEO, died in a plane crash. He crashed in the Pacific on a flight on his private plane from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta after being disoriented in the dark. He is buried in Guadalajara.
Like his brother, he had progressive social ideas: for example, Sigurd Varian was one of the founders of the housing cooperative in Ladera (near Stanford University). The brothers' parents came to California from Ireland in 1894 and were theosophists who helped found the Theosophical Commune ( Temple of Humanity ) in Halcyon .
He had two children with his wife, Winifred, daughter of the British consul in Vera Cruz .
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Varian, Sigurd Fergus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American electronics entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 4, 1901 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Syracuse , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 18, 1961 |
| Place of death | near Puerto Vallarta , Mexico |