Leon Theremin

Léon Theremin (born Lev Sergeyevich Termen) (August 15, 1896–November 3, 1993) was a Russian inventor, most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. Léon Theremin was born in Saint Petersburg. His invention in 1919 of the theremin (also called the thereminvox) came at a time when his country was in the midst of the Russian Civil War. After a lengthy tour of Europe, during which time he demonstrated his invention to packed houses, Theremin found his way to America, playing the theremin with the New York Philharmonic in 1928. He patented his invention in 1929 (US1661058 [1]) and subsequently granted commercial production rights to RCA.