George Risk

Biography

 George Risk was born in 1912 and was interested in electricity at an early age. By age seventeen, he entertained audiences in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area using transformers and tesla coils to generate 500,000 volts which created a man-lifting magnet and Jacob’s Ladder. After high school, he owned and operated a radio shop in Wood, South Dakota. In 1938, George moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he started Electronic Development Corporation which researched perfecting war weapons and peace time luxuries. During that time, he also operated an electronic radio-television institute to train 7,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines during World War II. The school also taught women to serve as communications clerks. In 1949, George became Executive Vice President of American TB Laboratories, a manufacturer of television tubes, located in Chicago. In 1951, George, his wife Eileen (Johnson) Risk and children relocated to Columbus, Nebraska, where he started Dale Electronics named after his eldest son. The company became a leading manufacturer of precision resistors and employed 2600 people. George later lost controlling interest. In 1965, he founded George Risk Industries, Inc. in Columbus, NE. It was relocated to Kimball, Nebraska. The main product line was push button reed switches. George used his inventive genius and developed many products over his life time including many of the standard burglar alarm switches still sold today. While his work and his family was his life, one of his greatest loves was St. Jude’s Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He was one of the original founders with his good friend Danny Thomas and served on the Board for many years. After George’s passing in 1989, their youngest son, Ken Risk, was appointed President and CEO by the Board of Directors.

Research Interest

 engineering