James Leland Jespersen, co-inventor of closed captioning, died November 24, 2011, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He was 77
According to news reports, Jespersen had a heart attack while visiting a friend.
A lifelong Coloradan, Jespersen , a physicist, worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the city of Boulder. In 1980, he received an Emmy Award for his work as a co-inventor of closed captioning, the process whereby words and description scroll across a television screen, improving the TV experience for hearing-impaired viewers.
Jespersen and his partners, George Kamas and Dick Davis, were also honored at the White House for their invention.
Obituaries are available at: