UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
             ------------------------------------------------------

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934


                                 Date of Report
                        (Date of earliest event reported)
                                 October 1, 2004

             ------------------------------------------------------

                           THERMO ELECTRON CORPORATION
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)



                                                            

         Delaware                            1-8002               04-2209186
  (State or other Jurisdiction of   (Commission File Number)     IRS Employer
       Incorporation)                                        Identification No.)


                      81 Wyman Street, P.O. Box 9046                  02454-9046
                          Waltham, Massachusetts                      (Zip Code)
                 (Address of Principal Executive Offices)


                                 (781) 622-1000
                         (Registrant's Telephone Number,
                              Including Area Code)

                                       N/A
          (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

     Check the  appropriate  box below if the Form 8-K  filing  is  intended  to
simultaneously  satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

_    Written  communications  pursuant to Rule 425 under the  Securities Act (17
     CFR 230.425)
_    Soliciting  material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
     240.14a-12)
_    Pre-commencement   communications  pursuant  to  Rule  14d-2(b)  under  the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
_    Pre-commencement   communications  pursuant  to  Rule  13e-4(c)  under  the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))



Item 5.02   Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors;
            Appointment of Principal Officers.

     As previously announced,  Theo Melas-Kyriazi  resigned from the position of
chief  financial  officer  of Thermo  Electron  Corporation  (the  "Registrant")
effective as of October 1, 2004,  and Peter M.  Wilver,  age 45,  succeeded  Mr.
Melas-Kyriazi  as the Registrant's  chief financial  officer on October 1, 2004.
Prior to such appointment Mr. Wilver served as the  Registrant's  vice president
of financial  operations  since  October  2000.  From February 2000 to September
2000,  Mr.  Wilver  served as vice  president  and chief  financial  officer  of
Honeywell  International's  electronic materials division,  and from May 1998 to
January  2000,  he served  as  finance  director  of its  aerospace  aftermarket
services business.

     The full text of the press release announcing the change in chief financial
officer  issued by the  Registrant  on June 3, 2004 is attached as Exhibit 99 to
this Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01   Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     (a)  Financial Statements of Business Acquired: Not applicable.

     (b)  Pro Forma Financial Information: Not applicable.

     (c)  Exhibits:
          99 Press Release issued by the Registrant on June 3, 2004.





                                    SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized, on this 1st day of October 2004.


                                                     THERMO ELECTRON CORPORATION


                                               By:  /s/ Kenneth J. Apicerno
                                                  ______________________________
                                                  Kenneth J. Apicerno
                                                  Treasurer






FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact Information:                      Investor Contact Information:
Lori Gorski                                     J. Timothy Corcoran
Phone:    781-622-1242                          Phone:   781-622-1111
E-mail:   lori.gorski@thermo.com                E-mail:  tim.corcoran@thermo.com
Website:  www.thermo.com


        Thermo Electron Appoints Peter M. Wilver Chief Financial Officer


             Theo Melas-Kyriazi to Pursue New Entrepreneurial Career

WALTHAM, Mass. (June 3, 2004) - Thermo Electron Corporation (NYSE:TMO) announced
today that its board of  directors  has named Peter M.  Wilver,  currently  vice
president  of  financial  operations,  to the post of chief  financial  officer,
effective October 1, 2004. Mr. Wilver will succeed Theo  Melas-Kyriazi,  who has
elected  to  leave   Thermo  to  pursue   entrepreneurial   opportunities.   Mr.
Melas-Kyriazi  will  remain  with  Thermo  for four  months to ensure a seamless
transition.

Marijn E. Dekkers,  president and chief  executive  officer of Thermo  Electron,
said,  "Pete  Wilver is the  natural  choice to become  our new chief  financial
officer.  He has had an  outstanding  record of  accomplishment  throughout  his
career and,  since joining  Thermo in 2000, has  consistently  demonstrated  his
extraordinary  financial  acumen,  as well as a  thorough  understanding  of our
businesses. Our finance organization is in great hands.

"We are grateful to Theo for his  contributions  to Thermo  Electron  during the
past 18 years,  especially since being named chief financial officer in 1999. He
has  been  a  key  player  in  the  company's  transformation,   overseeing  our
divestiture  and  acquisition  activities,  and  developing  and  executing  our
financial strategy by proactively  reducing debt,  monetizing  investments,  and
reorganizing  the  company's  structure to reduce taxes and increase  cash flow.
Theo has done an  outstanding  job  representing  the  company  with  investors,
analysts,  bankers,  and other  members of the financial  community,  and we all
respect  him not only  for his  business  capabilities,  but also for the way he
demonstrates  Thermo's values on a daily basis. While we are disappointed to see
Theo leave, we wish him well in his new career and look forward to hearing great
things from him."

"My career at Thermo has been incredibly  challenging and rewarding,"  said Theo
Melas-Kyriazi.  "The  opportunity  to work  with an  exceptional  team of Thermo
employees over so many years has been a great experience.  Although the decision
to leave was certainly  difficult,  this is the right time for me to pursue more
entrepreneurial  opportunities  that will allow me to leverage my financial  and
management  skills in a  different  way. I will leave with the  confidence  that
Thermo's  strong  financial  organization  will continue to prosper under Pete's
leadership.  I look forward to working with him and other  members of the Thermo
leadership team during the transition."

Pete  Wilver  said,  "I am  delighted  to be  selected  as  Thermo's  next chief
financial  officer and am looking forward to building upon the solid  foundation
that the finance team has established under Theo's leadership.  I'm also excited
to be  taking on this role at a time  when so much  energy is being  devoted  to
growing the company."

Mr.  Wilver,  age 44, was appointed  vice  president of financial  operations in
October  2000.  From May 1998 to September  2000,  he held finance  positions at
Honeywell  International,  most  recently  serving as vice  president  and chief
financial  officer  of its  electronic  materials  division.  Prior  to  joining
Honeywell, Mr. Wilver served in numerous finance roles with Grimes Aerospace and
the General Electric Company.

A world leader in high-tech instruments,  Thermo Electron Corporation helps life
science,  laboratory,  and industrial  customers advance  scientific  knowledge,
enable drug discovery,  improve manufacturing  processes, and protect people and



the environment with instruments,  scientific equipment,  services, and software
solutions. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Thermo Electron has revenues of more
than $2  billion,  and  employs  approximately  11,000  people  in 30  countries
worldwide. For more information, visit www.thermo.com.

The following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities
Litigation  Reform Act of 1995:  This  press  release  contains  forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and  uncertainties.  Important factors
that could cause actual  results to differ  materially  from those  indicated by
such forward-looking statements are set forth under the heading "Forward-Looking
Statements"  in the  company's  Quarterly  Report  on Form  10-Q for the  fiscal
quarter ended April 3, 2004. These include risks and uncertainties  relating to:
the need to develop new products and adapt to significant  technological change,
dependence on customers that operate in cyclical  industries,  general worldwide
economic  conditions  and  related  uncertainties,  the  effect  of  changes  in
governmental regulations, dependence on customers' capital spending policies and
government  funding  policies,  use and  protection  of  intellectual  property,
exposure to product liability claims in excess of insurance coverage,  retention
of contingent  liabilities  from  businesses we sold,  realization  of potential
future savings from new productivity initiatives, implementation of new branding
strategy, implementation of strategies for improving internal growth, the effect
of exchange  rate  fluctuations  on  international  operations,  identification,
completion  and  integration  of new  acquisitions  and potential  impairment of
goodwill  from  previous  acquisitions.  We undertake no  obligation to publicly
update any  forward-looking  statement,  whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.


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