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Trump Claims His Uncle 'Invented Radar': What The Record Shows

Trump Claims His Uncle 'Invented Radar': What The Record Shows

Summary

President Donald Trump said his uncle, MIT professor John Trump, invented radar. Historical accounts credit several people with developing radar, including Robert Watson-Watt, while John Trump helped lead U.S. radar research during World War II.

Key Facts

  • Trump made the claim to reporters on October 24 in Palm Beach, Florida.
  • John Trump became an assistant professor of electrical engineering at MIT in 1936.
  • In 1942, John Trump became secretary of the U.S. National Defense Research Committee’s Microwave Committee, overseeing radar research.
  • From February 1944, John Trump led the British Branch of MIT’s Radiation Laboratory and worked with British scientists, including Robert Watson-Watt.
  • Heinrich Hertz’s experiments demonstrated the existence of electromagnetic waves, which radar uses.
  • Christian Hülsmeyer patented a radio-wave device to detect ships in 1904, an early form of radar.
  • Robert Watson-Watt developed a system that could reliably locate aircraft in 1935; it led to Britain’s Chain Home radar network.
  • MIT said it has no record that Ted Kaczynski attended the university, contrary to a previous claim by Trump about his uncle teaching him there.
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