Archie Frederick Collins

Archie Frederick Collins (January 8, 1869 – January 3, 1952), who generally went by A. Frederick Collins, was a prominent early American experimenter in wireless telephony. His reputation was tarnished in 1913 when he was convicted of mail fraud related to stock promotion. After serving a year in prison, he returned to writing, including, beginning in 1922, The Radio Amateur's Handbook, which continued to be updated and published until the mid-1980s. Collins was intrigued by reports of people "predicting weather" by aches and pains in their body, and examples of lightning strikes, which were strong sources of radio waves. His research culminated in experiments on a fresh human brain from a cadaver. Collins claimed that the brain had a 'cohering' effect, its conductivity changed when irradiated. Collins lived at a summer home called "The Antlers" in Rockland County, New York, in the hamlet of Congers, and had a second residence in Florida. His winter residence was New York City, and he died in Nyack.