1 The Story
From engineering to the father of modern indicators
J. Welles Wilder Jr. trained as a mechanical engineer, served in the U.S. Navy, and built a career in real-estate development before turning to commodity trading — and then changed technical analysis permanently.
Born June 11, 1935, Wilder earned a mechanical-engineering degree from North Carolina State University and worked in engineering and property development before moving into commodities. He founded Trend Research, Ltd. to publish his methods, and in 1978 released New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems — the book that introduced the indicators now built into virtually every charting platform. Forbes (1980) called him the premier technical trader then publishing his work. He died April 18, 2021.1
2 The Big Idea
One book, four standard indicators
Wilder packed a remarkable amount into New Concepts
Relative Strength Index, Average True Range, Average Directional Index, and Parabolic SAR — all introduced in a single 1978 volume.
Each remains a default tool today: RSI for momentum, ATR for volatility, ADX for trend strength, and Parabolic SAR for trailing stops.1
3 The Method & Contribution
What he gave the charts
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
A bounded 0–100 momentum oscillator comparing the size of recent gains to recent losses — his most famous creation.1
Average True Range (ATR)
A pure measure of volatility — the average range a market travels per bar — now the backbone of volatility-based stops and sizing.1
ADX / DMI
The Average Directional Index, measuring how strongly a market is trending regardless of direction.1
Parabolic SAR
A stop-and-reverse trailing system that tightens as a trend extends.1
4 See It On This Site
His indicators, explained on this site
Go deeper
We cover his most-used tools in depth: the RSI deep dive traces the math and the honest evidence, and his Average True Range anchors our ATR & volatility guide.
5 The Work
His key contribution in print
New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems
Trend Research · 1978- Introduced RSI, ATR, ADX/DMI and Parabolic SAR in one volume.
- Still the primary reference for the original formulas and Wilder's smoothing method.
6 Read More
Go deeper
- CONCEPTRSI — the definitive guide.
- CONCEPTATR & volatility — his volatility measure.
- CONCEPTADX & DMI — his trend-strength system.
- READJ. Welles Wilder Jr. — biography.
§ Sources
- J. Welles Wilder Jr. — biography, indicators & New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978) — Wikipedia.