Grote Reber
Astronomer
American pioneer of radio astronomy whose 1937 radio antenna was the second ever to be used for astronomical purposes. His work caused an explosion of radio astronomy i the post-World War II era.
He was born and raised in Wheaton, Illinois, and graduated from Armour Institute of Technology in 1933 with a degree in electrical engineering.
He built his own radio telescope in his back yard in Wheaton, Illinois.
His father Schuuyler Reber owned a canning factory.
Like Nikola Tesla before him he received the Elliott Cresson Medal for physics.