John C. Diebel (born 1943) is the founder of telescope manufacturer Meade Instruments and a recipient of the Franklin Institute's Bower Award For Business Leadership.
Eventually, Diebel was able to quit his job at Hughes and work on his mail-order business from his one-bedroom apartment full-time.
He named his company Mead, but eventually added the "e" at the suggestion of a co-worker at Hughes.
Meade Instruments would eventually become the world's largest telescope manufacturer for amateur astronomy, with distribution in over thirty countries.
Diebel received the Franklin Institute's Bower Award for Business Leadership in 1998[1] and retired from Meade Instruments in 2003.