My friend, colleague, and mentor John Waymouth died in Danvers, MA, at the age of 99. John led a very full life—in addition to his role as a lighting industry giant for more than 50 years, he was an accomplished sailor and a keen participant in all aspects of amateur theater, including acting, production, and lighting.
I first met John at the Light Sources Conference in York, England, in 1988. I had recently joined Thorn Lighting after a 20-year career in thermonuclear fusion research. We met regularly after that at conferences around the world, and I learned much from his insight and lectures.
I only got to know John well about 10 years ago, when he was a sprightly 89 and I was working for a UK company developing microwave-induced light sources. Since he was the author of a couple of fundamental papers on the subject, I was keen for his input, so I would invite him to lunch at Legal Sea Foods in Peabody, MA, where I had not only the benefit of his intellect but also some understanding of the other aspects of his life.
I lost contact with John for several years but met him again in an assisted living facility where I provided regular entertainment for the residents. To my surprise on one such occasion, John was sitting in the front row. For the next two years, I paid him many afternoon visits, profiting from his knowledge of lamp physics and discussing a broad range of subjects, always accompanied by a “libation” from the excellent bottle of bourbon he kept. A major topic was his love of the music of the 1930s and 1940s, and he often talked about the way vacuum tubes (the subject of his Ph.D. thesis) had transformed the music industry at that time.
John was born in the Dominican Republic where he spent the first five years of his life, after which he moved with his family to Puerto Rico. His family settled in the U.S. when he was 10 years old. After completing high school, John started his undergraduate studies at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. World War II interrupted his studies, and he was drafted into the 1st Cavalry Horse Division, where he served in the Philippines. On returning from the war, John completed his undergraduate studies and later earned his Ph.D. in Physics at MIT.
John’s achievements in lighting research are well known to the lighting community. His book Lamps and Lighting was the fundamental textbook on which all aspiring lighting engineers cut their teeth. He was director of research at Sylvania for many years where he was awarded 60 patents. He made fundamental contributions to the research and development of a number of discharge lamps, including fluorescent, metal halide, and low-pressure sodium. John was awarded the Elenbaas Prize (1973), the Will Allis Prize by the American Physical Society (2000), and the IES Medal of Achievement (1991)—the only person to receive all three.
Memories of John will linger long after his passing, and it was a pleasure to know and work with him.
Graeme Lister
Former Chair, IES Industrial Lighting Committee
