Last updated: 24 May 2026
Col. Hiram Baldwin Ely
1896-1987
Hi, aged 35
Hi Ely was raised in a large family in Rutherford, New Jersey. He graduated third in his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1917. With his interests lying in acoustical and electrical engineering, he chose to serve in the ordnance branch and was assigned to the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia. There he was in charge of weapons fire control investigation. He subsequently became commander of the arsenal.
While at the arsenal, he invented and patented an exponential sound locator, a pre-radar device used for detecting approaching aircraft.
Following his retirment from the military in 1929, Hi worked for Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York City as a research executive. He was later recalled by the military in 1941, and served during World War II and the Korean War. He then returned to Bell Labs.
Father: Capt. Addison Ely (1853-1928)
Mother: Emily Jane Johnson (1856-1949)
Spouse: Zelie Bancroft Crosby aka Zelie de Lussan Porter (1899-1962)
Children:
- Hope Brewster Ely
- Hiram Baldwin Ely, Jr (1921-2003)
Timeline
Note: Some events and people are not listed to protect the privacy of living persons.
-
1896
March 1 - Born on his mother's birthday in Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey. The 10th child of Capt. Addison Ely and Emily Jayne Ely (nee Johnson).
-
1913
June 19 - Graduates from Rutherford High School[1]
-
1913
October 1 - Attends University of Michigan for an academic year.[2]
-
1914
June 15 - Admitted as a cadet to West Point Military Academy. Appointed from New Jersey.
-
1917
August 30 - Graduates 3rd in his class from West Point
-
1917
August 30 - Marries Zélie de Lussan Porter at West Point.
-
1917
Oct 10, 1917 to Jun 15, 1919 - Instructor in Department of Mathematics at West Point.[3]
-
1919
March 24 - Daughter Hope Brewster Ely born at West Point, New York.
-
1919
June 20 - Departs from Hoboken NJ for Europe on the US Army Transport Service ship "USS Leviathan" for a tour of inspection of battlefields.[4]
-
1919
November 3 - Departs Brest, France, with wife and infant daughter on the US Army Transport Service ship "Northern Pacific". Arrives November 9 at Hoboken NJ.[5]
-
1919
Nov 10, 1919 to Sep 20, 1920 - Commanding company, 6th Engineers, Camp Pike, Pulaski, Arkansas, with his wife and infant daughter.[6]
-
1921
1921-1922 - As an Ordnance officer on duty, attends M.I.T. and then Watertown Arsenal in Boston MA.[7]
-
1921
August 2 - Son Hiram, Jr, born at Army Hospital, Fort Banks, Winthrop MA.
-
1923
Sep 20, 1923 to Jun 1, 1924 - As a student officer, takes a course in acoustics at State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.[8]
-
1924
Jun 1, 1924 to Nov 30, 1927 - Developes aircraft sound detectors at Frankfort Arsenal, Philadelphia PA.[9]
-
1927
Nov 30, 1927 to Jan 2, 1929 - In charge of Fire Control Design Section, Frankfort Arsenal. Then on leave of absence to May 1929.[10]
-
1929
Beginning of 1929 while on leave from the Army, joins the technical staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York City where he engages in loud speaker development work with the Research Department. Works as Telephone Engineer, and Apparatus Staff Engineer, 1929 to 4 Aug 1941.[11]
-
1929
2 May - Resigns/retires from Army as a Captain.[12]
-
1937
March - Buys farm property, located 3 miles from Flemington NJ, which they name 'Hi Hope Farm'.
-
1946
Receives Legion of Merit Award.[13]
-
1962
13 February - wife Zelie dies.[14]
-
1987
April 11 - Dies in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, aged 91 years.
Stories
1896-1913
His Childhood Days—In his own words
ca 1908, childhood
The Budding Engineer
Oct 1913 - May 1914
Off to College
March 1916
A Letter Home
August 1917
The West Point Graduate
August 30, 1917
A West Point Wedding
August 30, 1917
Ely Family Portrait
Stories to Come
- His patented sound locator for detecting approaching aircraft
- His career in the Army
- His work at Bell Labs
Footnotes and Sources
- [1] Rutherford High School 1913 Commencement Exercises Program; Ely family papers; scanned copy held by Hope Stewart.
- [2] Hiram B. Ely, "My Autobiography", dated 31 January 1917 (pp 1-10) & 19 February 1917 (pp 10-29), page 22. A 29-page handwritten document on legal-sized paper.
- [3] Extract of Cullum File for Hiram Baldwin Ely, provided in 1987 by the Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, to his daughter, Hope Ely Cochran.
- [4] Two sources:
- U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939, Ancestry.com.
- Extract of Cullum File for Hiram Baldwin Ely.
- [5] U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939, Ancestry.com
- [6] Two sources:
- 1920 United States Federal Census, Camp Pike, Pulaski, Arkansas; Roll: T625_80; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 175, Ancestry.com. Note that Hiram and his little family are also listed in the 1920 Census for Rutherford NJ, but I believe that they were not actually there—the names are spelled incorrectly and Hiram's occupation is given as Naval Officer. Perhaps they were in Rutherford just before going to Camp Pike.
- Extract of Cullum File for Hiram Baldwin Ely
- [7] Hiram B. Ely, Sr, The Saga of the Walnut Beds [unpublished], 25 June 1979, page 1, copy held by Hope Stewart.
- [8] Extract of Cullum File for Hiram Baldwin Ely.
- [9] Extract of Cullum File for Hiram Baldwin Ely.
- [10] Extract of Cullum File for Hiram Baldwin Ely.
- [11] Bell Laboratories Record, Jan 1931, page 258. A publication of the Bell System of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company from 1925 to 1984. Sourced from https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Bell_Laboratories_Record_Issue_Key.htm
- [12] Extract of Cullum File for Hiram Baldwin Ely.
- [13] Bell Laboratories Record, Feb 1946, Vol XXIV, Number II, pp 75-76.
- [14] Death Certificate for Zelie DeLussan Ely, 13 Feb 1962, New Jersey State Department of Health. Informant was her husband, Col. Hiram B. Ely.