George Owen Squier

Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army George Owen Squier
Major General George Owen Squier
Born	(1865-03-21)March 21, 1865 Dryden, Michigan
Died	Washington, D.C.
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1887–1923
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Chief Signal Officer
Battles/wars	Spanish–American War World War I
Awards	Distinguished Service Medal Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Order of the Crown of Italy Legion of Honor Elliott Cresson Medal John Scott Medal Franklin Medal
Other work	businessman, scientist

Major General George Owen Squier (March 21, 1865 – March 24, 1934) was born in Dryden, Michigan, United States. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in the Class of 1887 and received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1893.

Life and military career

Portrait of George Owen Squier, by Harris & Ewing, c. 1916.

George Squier wrote and edited many books and articles on the subject of radio and electricity. An inventor, he and Dartmouth professor Albert Cushing Crehore developed a magneto-optical streak camera "The Polarizing Photo-chronograph" in 1896 to measure the speed of projectiles both inside a cannon and directly after they left the cannon barrel. This was one of the earliest photonic programs. They also worked to develop synchronous AC telegraphic systems. His biggest contribution was that of telephone carrier multiplexing in 1910 for which he was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1919.

As executive officer to the Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Signal Corps in 1907, Squier was instrumental in the establishment of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps, the first organizational ancestor of the US Air Force. He also was the first military passenger in an airplane on September 12, 1908 and, working with the Wright Brothers, was responsible for the purchase of the first airplanes by the US Army in 1909.

From May 1916 to February 1917 he was Chief of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, the first successor of the Aeronautical Division, before being promoted to major general and appointed Chief Signal Officer during World War I.

In 1922 he created Wired Radio, a service which piped music to businesses and subscribers over wires. Liking how 'Kodak' was a made up name, in 1934, he decided later to change the service's name to 'Muzak'.

Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest it was pronounced like the word square.

He died in March 1934 of pneumonia.

Legacy

In 1943, the U.S. Navy named troopship USS General G. O. Squier (AP-130) in his honor. It was the lead ship of its class, which was known as General G. O. Squier class of transport ships.

General Squier Park, a historic district and waterpark in his hometown of Dryden, Michigan, is named in his honor.

External links

• George O. Squier (Cullum's Register entry)
• Smithsonian West Point: George Squier
• National Academy of Science
• United States Army Signal Center