philo farnsworth blackboard

by Lorena Tremblay 9 min read

Farnsworth studied everything he could find on the subject. He daydreamed about it even as he went about performing his chores around the farm, until one day in 1922, he drew a diagram on a chalkboard for his high school science teacher, Justin Tolman, and announced that this was his idea for television.Aug 7, 2014

Who was Philo Farnsworth?

Farnsworth sketched his idea on the blackboard of his high school chemistry teacher, Justin Tolman, and presented him with a drawing of it, which would prove invaluable years later during a 1935 patent suit ruling. Farnsworth’s sketch for teacher Justin Tolman, courtesy of the digital The Philo T. Farnsworth Archives.

How did Philo Farnsworth get the idea for electronic television?

When he was 15 years old, Philo T. Farnsworth drew something on the blackboard in chemistry class that would change the world. It was an “Image Dissector” and it was young Philo’s idea for electronic television. Years later, his chemistry teacher redrew that sketch and helped Farnsworth win a long courtroom battle against the Radio ...

Where can I find media related to Philo Taylor Farnsworth?

May 11, 2017 · Farnsworth sketched his idea on the blackboard of his high school chemistry teacher, Justin Tolman, and presented him with a drawing of it, which would prove invaluable years later during a 1935 patent suit ruling. Philo T. Farnsworth’s sketch for teacher Justin Tolman, courtesy of philointhehall.com.

How many patents did Philo Farnsworth have?

Philo Farnsworth conceived the world's first all-electronic television at the age of 15. By the time he died, he had earned over 300 U.S. and foreign patents for electronic and mechanical devices. Philo Taylor Farnsworth was born in 1906 in southwestern Utah in a log cabin built by his grandfather, a follower of the Mormon leader, Brigham Young.

See more

Oct 28, 2021 · Philo T. Farnsworth was a talented scientist and inventor from a young age. In 1938, he unveiled a prototype of the first all-electric television, and went on to lead research in nuclear fusion ...

image

Who invented TV as an electronic blackboard?

Philo FarnsworthResting placeProvo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah, USEmployerPhilco, Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation, International Telephone and TelegraphKnown forInventor of the first fully electronic television; over 169 United States and foreign patentsSpouse(s)Elma "Pem" Gardner (1926–71; his death)5 more rows

What did Philo Farnsworth invent?

TelevisionTelevision setImage dissectorPhilo Farnsworth/Inventions

How old was Philo Farnsworth when he died?

64 years (1906–1971)Philo Farnsworth / Age at deathHe was 64 years old. Hospital authorities said Mr. Farnsworth suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after arriving at the hospital following a choking spell. He is survived by his widow, Elma (Pem) Gardner Farnsworth, and a son, Philo Farnsworth.Mar 13, 1971

Why did Farnsworth turn down RCA?

Both RCA and General Electric offered him a chance to work on television in their laboratories. He turned them both down. He wanted to go it alone. This was the practical consequence of his conviction that television was his, and it was, in retrospect, a grievous error.May 27, 2002

How did Philo Farnsworth change the world?

Farnsworth was a talented scientist and inventor from a young age. In 1938, he unveiled a prototype of the first all-electric television, and went on to lead research in nuclear fusion. Despite his continued scientific success, Farnsworth was dogged by lawsuits and died, in debt, in Salt Lake City on March 11, 1971.Apr 1, 2014

What did Philo Farnsworth study?

Farnsworth was a technical prodigy from an early age. An avid reader of science magazines as a teenager, he became interested in the problem of television and was convinced that mechanical systems that used, for example, a spinning disc would be too slow to scan and assemble images many times a second.Mar 7, 2022

Who stole Philo Farnsworth idea?

When Farnsworth was 24, three years after making the TV a reality, his laboratory was visited by Vladimir Zworykin, who promptly stole the idea right out from under him and sold it to RCA. This led to years of legal battles, and Farnsworth eventually won the right to receive royalties for his invention.

How did Philo Farnsworth create the TV?

At age 14, plowing the potato fields on his family's farm, he looked at the furrows and saw in them a way to transmit parallel lines of light as electrons, which he called "capturing light in a bottle." This is how he conceived of his idea for television, leading, in 1928, at age 22, to his greatest invention.

Where did Philo Farnsworth invent the TV?

But he never abandoned his dream, and in 1926, he convinced some friends to fund his invention efforts. The next year, while working in San Francisco, Farnsworth demonstrated the first all-electronic television (1927).

Did Farnsworth sue RCA?

That same year, his youngest son died from a throat infection and Philco refused him even the time off to bury his son. With his personal world crashing in, Farnsworth was sued by RCA for patent interference, and a legal battle ensued over who invented television.Jan 13, 2002

Which event convinced Farnsworth that his efforts were worthwhile?

Pem stated that while watching the 1969 moon landing Farnsworth professed “this has made it all worthwhile.” Ironically, Farnsworth himself appeared only once on the medium he invented on the program I've Got a Secret. Farnsworth passed away March 11, 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Philo T.Feb 28, 2014

How much did the image dissector cost?

An image dissector of the type designed by Philo Farnsworth sold for $17,500 at auction yesterday (you can read more about the image dissector here). It was the highest priced item to be auctioned off as part of the “Philo T.Jun 20, 2010

Overview

Inventions

Farnsworth worked out the principle of the image dissector in the summer of 1921, not long before his 15th birthday, and demonstrated the first working version on September 7, 1927, having turned 21 the previous August. A farm boy, his inspiration for scanning an image as a series of lines came from the back-and-forth motion used to plow a field. In the course of a patent interference suit brought by the Radio Corporation of Americain 1934 and decided in February 19…

Early life

Farnsworth was born August 19, 1906, the eldest of five children of Lewis Edwin Farnsworth and Serena Amanda Bastian, a Latter-day Saint couple living in a small log cabin built by Lewis' father near Beaver, Utah. In 1918, the family moved to a relative's 240-acre (1.0 km ) ranch near Rigby, Idaho, where his father supplemented his farming income by hauling freight with his horse-drawn wagon. Philo was excited to find that his new home was wired for electricity, with a Delco gener…

Career

A few months after arriving in California, Farnsworth was prepared to show his models and drawings to a patent attorney who was nationally recognized as an authority on electrophysics. Everson and Gorrell agreed that Farnsworth should apply for patents for his designs, a decision that proved crucial in later disputes with RCA. Most television systems in use at the time used image scanning dev…

TV appearance

Although he was the man responsible for its technology, Farnsworth appeared only once on a television program. On July 3, 1957, he was a mystery guest ("Doctor X") on the CBS quiz show I've Got A Secret. He fielded questions from the panel as they unsuccessfully tried to guess his secret ("I invented electronic television."). For stumping the panel, he received $80 and a carton of Winston cigarettes. Host Garry Moorethen spent a few minutes discussing with Farnsworth his r…

Legacy

In a 1996 videotaped interview by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Elma Farnsworth recounts Philo's change of heart about the value of television, after seeing how it showed man walking on the moon, in real time, to millions of viewers:
Interviewer: The image dissector was used to send shots back from the moon …

Fort Wayne sites

In 2010, the former Farnsworth factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was razed, eliminating the "cave," where many of Farnsworth's inventions were first created, and where its radio and television receivers and transmitters, television tubes, and radio-phonographs were mass-produced under the Farnsworth, Capehart, and Panamuse trade names. The facility was located at 3702 E. Pontiac St.

Marion, Indiana factory

In addition to Fort Wayne, Farnsworth operated a factory in Marion, Indiana, that made shortwave radios used by American combat soldiers in World War II. Acquired by RCA after the war, the facility was located at 3301 S. Adams St.