Norman H. Crowhurst
Well-known electronics writer Norman H. Crowhurst died at age 77 on March 7, 1991 after a brief illness. He was born November 3, 1913 in Southend-on-Sea, England. He earned degrees at Streatham Hill College, Goldsmith's College, and at S.E. London Technical College, where he was later a senior lecturer. Crowhurst began his career at Johnson & Phillips, Ltd. In 1935, he became Chief Engineer at Tannoy, Ltd., where he remained for the next 10 years.
Crowhurst was best known to electronics buffs, and especially audiophiles during the 1950s and 1960s, as perhaps the most prolific author on audio theory and construction. He developed many unique answers to different problems, such as a stereo power amplifier which sported only one pair of output tubes but two transformers. He had an unusually clear writing style and an exceptional ability to explain difficult theoretical concepts in terms that beginners could easily understand. He had a remarkable number of admirers among his readers, who credited him with being the first author to stimulate their appreciation for audio and electronics.
Norman Crowhurst was certainly one of the most widely read authors in the audio field, having contributed to 32 commercial publications and many professional journals. He once claimed to have written over 2,000 articles and papers and some 50 books. He held a number of patents.
Crowhurst was honored with a Fellowship by the Audio Engineering Society in 1959. An associate member of the British IEE, he was a senior member of the British Sound Recording Association and a member of the AES, SMPTE, IEEE, ASA, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Professional Engineers of Oregon.
Crowhurst and his wife emigrated to the United States in 1953. They became naturalized citizens of the U.S. on November 17, 1960. He worked as an editor at several British and U.S.
publishing houses, both on staff and as a consultant, and for two years he worked at Fairchild Recording Equipment Co.
In mid-October of 1990, the bicycle Crowhurst was riding was stuck by a passing car, in his adopted home of Dallas, Oregon. Medical examination revealed little or no obvious damage, but he failed to recover completely. He became ill in late February and was bedridden for a great part of each day.
His death came suddenly from heart failure on March 7, 1991.
-Edward T. Dell, Jr.
( adapted from Audio magazine, Bov. 1991)
Also see:
Coda (George W. Tillett; Feb. 1983)
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