USS Fessenden (DE-142)
She was named in honor of Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, born in Brome County, Quebec, Canada, 6 October 1866. He served as head chemist with Thomas Edison's East Orange, New Jersey, laboratories. In 1890 he began concentrating on electrical engineering, and through the next years made many important inventions and improvements in existing devices. His great contributions in the field of radio (particularly the invention of radio-telephony were of marked benefit not only to the Navy but to all seamen. He died 22 July 1932, at his home on Bermuda.
John M. Fessenden
After his work on engineering for railroads, Fessenden was appointed Railroad Commissioner of the State of Massachusetts for the period of 1845‑47. During this same period he received and honorary degree from Harvard in 1846 and went on to be part of the board of visitors for Lawrence school at Harvard for almost twenty years. Fessenden was appointed by President Millard Fillmore to serve as U.S. Consul at Dresden, Saxony, in 1850‑51 and spent four years there.