Armstrong with a radio receiver of his own design. Edwin Howard Armstrong (December 18, 1890 - January 31, 1954) was an American electrical engineer and inventor, best known for developing FM (frequency modulation) radio. He held 42 patents and received numerous awards, including the first Medal of Honor awarded by the Institute of Radio Engineers, the French Legion of Honor, the 1941 Franklin Medal and the 1942 Edison Medal. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and included in the International Telecommunication Union's roster of great inventors. In 1954, bitter and overtaxed by years of litigation and mounting financial problems, Armstrong removed the air conditioner from a window in his apartment on the 13th floor of River House in NYC, and jumped to his death. His body - fully clothed, with a hat, overcoat and gloves - was found in the morning on a third-floor balcony by a River House employee. He was 63 years old.