Ray Dolby, Born 1933
inventor of sound systems
The son of an inventor, Ray Dolby was born in Portland, Oregon, USA. He obtained his degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and his PhD as a Marshall Scholar at Pembroke College, Cambridge University. After working as a technical advisor for the UN in India, he set up his company Dolby Laboratories in London. In that same year, 1965, he officially invented the Dolby noise-reduction system, a form of audio signal processing for analog tape recorders. The Dolby B consumer noise-reduction system works by compressing and increasing the volume of low-level high-frequency sounds during recording and correspondingly reversing the process during playback. This reduces the audible level of tape hiss. His company went on to develop sound systems for films, which are now widely used around the world. He had a personal passion for adventurous flying, which he took up at the age of 57. The success of Dolby Laboratories brought him great wealth, from which he made generous bequests, including bequests totalling more than £100m to Cambridge University.
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