Philo T. Farnsworth

http://library.lehigh.edu/omeka/files/original/3a22aa190a67a4fb09a0da12e9824fac.jpg

Philo T. Farnsworth (1906-1971): Father of Television

A talented amateur scientist at an early age, Farnsworth won a national contest for a tamper-proof lock while in high school and sketched out an idea for a vacuum tube that would revolutionize television. He matriculated in 1922 at Brigham Young University and continued his studies. By 1927 he unveiled the first all-electric television prototype – a video camera tube or “image dissector” which was the same device he sketched in high school.  RCA wanted to buy this invention, but Farnsworth rejected the offer.  He accepted a position at Philco. Throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, Farnsworth was involved in legal charges that his inventions were in violation of a patent filed prior by Russian inventor, Valdimir Zworkyin. RCA owned the Zworkyin patent. In 1933 he left Philco to pursue other endeavors not associated with television and went on to lead research in nuclear fusion. Eventually, RCA produced and marketed the first all-electric home television. After years of legal battles, Farnsworth died in debt.

“A Radio Idea from the West: Farnsworth, Television Inventor from California, Explains his Image Receiver—He Believes Scenic Broadcasts Are Possible.” New York Times. Dec. 14, 1930.