Lee De Forest was the son of a congregational minister came from a humble background. His father moved the family to Alabama where he took up residency and later became the president of a college by the name of Talladega that was designed specifically for black students, a college that was almost down on it knees edging towards the brink of bankruptcy and none existence. The De Forest family was not well received by citizens of the white populated neighbourhood. These people resented his father's efforts to edify blacks, and what made it worst all, of the many friends Lee De Forest had; they were mainly of the black race! There must have been a lot of verbal mugging roaming about in the air generating perplexity in the de Forest's arena. Lee de Forest formative years of Christian upbringing must have blessed him with a solid coat of armour to cover his whole being because it appeared not to have caused him much anxiety that the whites saw him as friend of the blacks. Lee de Forest was just himself and did not really care about the thoughts the whites had of him. To him, being around the blacks was just a natural thing to him in his environment. Although he had a rigid life as a child, in that he was often subjected to his dad's stern disciplinary objectives, unlike most children living in his neighbourhood! | | Lee de Forest had an inquisitive mind and by the age of 13 his attention was already strongly focused on being an inventor. With his innate attributes he invented a number of mechanical machineries such as a mini-sized blast furnace, a locomotive, and a working silver plating paraphernalia. Still, being of an enquiring mind his interest was strongly diverted towards science, and of course, this train of thought was not his father's wish at all. His father wanted his Lee de Forest to follow in his footsteps and become a clergyman preaching the good word of the gospel to the people! |
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