Abstract :
Grote Reber, amateur radio operator W9GFZ, died December 20, 2002 in Tasmania. He would have been 91 years old on December 22nd. Reber is acknowledged as the Father of Radio Astronomy and the inventor of the first true radio telescope. With the advent of space satellites, his greatest legacy may well be his invention of the parabolic dish, designed to receive nonterrestrial electromagnetic radiation, a concept that has revolutionized worldwide communication.