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George Beauchamp

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American inventor

This article is about the inventor of musical instruments. For the Titanic survivor, seeGeorge Beauchamp (sailor). For the English music hall performer, seeGeorge Beauchamp (music hall).

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George Beauchamp
Born	George Delmetia Beauchamp (1899-03-18)March 18, 1899 Coleman County, Texas, United States
Died	March 20, 1941(1941-03-20) (aged 42) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Inventor

George Delmetia Beauchamp (/ˈbiːtʃəm/^{[citation needed]}; March 18, 1899 – March 30, 1941) was an American inventor of musical instruments. He is known for designing the first electrically amplified guitar to be marketed commercially. He was also a founder ofNational Stringed Instrument Corporation andRickenbacker (originally Rickenbacher) guitars.

Biography

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He was born in Coleman County, Texas on March 18, 1899. Beauchamp performed invaudeville, playing theviolin and thelap steel guitar, before he settled in Los Angeles, California. During the 1920s, he experimented with the creation of electric lap steel guitars,electric guitars, electricbass guitars,electric violins, andinstrument amplifiers. In 1931, he joined withPaul Barth andAdolph Rickenbacker to form the Ro-Pat-In Corporation to produce and sell electrified string instruments. The most notable of these, theRickenbacher A-22 (and A-25) lapsteel guitar – known as the "frying pan" – is widely regarded as the first mass-produced electric guitar. Production of the instrument began in 1932. In 1937, Beauchamp secured a United Statespatent for his version of the electric guitar.

Beauchamp married Myrtle Johnston in 1917. They had two children, Frances and Nolan. He died of aheart attack in 1941 whiledeep sea fishing near Los Angeles.

Inventions

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1: Patent applied for the single-conedobro guitar, patent #1,808,756^[1]
2: Patent applied for metalfinger picks (now commonly used for steel guitars and banjos), patent #1,787,136^[2]
3: Patent applied for the electriclap steel guitar (nicknamed "the frying pan"), patent #2,089,171^[3]
4: Patent applied for theelectric guitar (called the electro Spanish guitar, which was a hollow-body electric guitar), patent #2,152,783^[4]
5: Patent applied for theelectric violin (called the electro violin), patent #2130174^[5]

Catalogues from the Electro String Instrument Corporation show a range of electric instruments. In 1932, Beauchamp's Ro-Pat-In company marketed the electric lap steel guitar. The electric guitar was supposedly marketed the same year; early catalogues showing the instrument are not dated.^{[citation needed]}