PHILO FARNSWORTH
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'Philo Taylor Farnsworth' (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor. He is best known for inventing the first completely electronic television. In particular, he was the first to make a working electronic image pickup device (video camera tube), and the first to demonstrate an all-electronic television system to the public.
In his later life, Farnsworth also invented a small nuclear fusion device known as a fusor.
Many inventors had written about, worked on or built various electro-''mechanical'' television systems prior to Farnsworth's seminal contribution (including Alexander Bain, Paul Nipkow, Aleksandr Stoletov, Karl Ferdinand Braun, Boris Rosing, Herbert E. Ives, and John Logie Baird). Several inventors also wrote about, devised or built electronic apparatus prior to Farnsworth, including Boris Rosing, Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton, Kalman Tihanyi, Vladimir Zworykin and Kenjiro Takayanagi. Farnsworth made the world's first working television system with electronic scanning of both the pickup and display devices, which he first demonstrated to news media on September 1, 1928, televising a motion picture film; and to the public at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on August 25, 1934, televising live images.
In 1930, after a visit to Farnsworth's laboratory, Vladimir Zworykin copied this apparatus for RCA. The U.S. Patent Office rendered a decision in 1935 that a machine built to Zworykin's electronic television patent design of 1923 would produce largely meaningless shades of darkness and light, and was "an entirely different design" from the one described by RCA witnesses. Priority of invention was awarded to Farnsworth, based on his 1927 patent application, issued in 1930. Key aspects of Farnsworth's 1930 camera and receiver designs remain in use today.
Farnsworth was born into a Mormon family[1] in Beaver, Utah on August 19, 1906. His father later moved the family to Rigby, Idaho, where he worked as a sharecropper. When they moved to their new home, Philo was apparently excited to find it was wired for electrical power, something that was still fairly rare at that point, at least in the countryside. It had electric lighting, and power hoists to lift hay into the barn. Farnsworth converted a washing machine from hand to electric power by winding an armature to construct an electric motor.[2] Young Philo developed an early interest in electronics after his first telephone conversation with an out-of-state relative and the discovery of a large cache of technology magazines in the attic of the family’s new home.
Farnsworth excelled in chemistry and physics at Rigby High School, and produced sketches and prototypes of electron tubes. One of the drawings he did for his chemistry teacher, Justin Tolman, proved to be the pattern for his later experiments in electronics and was instrumental in winning a patent interference case between Farnsworth and Radio Corporation of America (RCA).[3]
Philo took violin lessons from Reuben Wilkins in Ucon, Idaho. He enrolled at Brigham Young University in 1923.
After a brief stint in the Navy, Farnsworth returned to Idaho to help support his mother. He later moved to the San Francisco Bay area with his bride, Elma “Pem†Gardner Farnsworth (February 25, 1908 - April 27, 2006). A local philanthropist managing a community chest agreed to fund Farnsworth's early television experiments (see below).
In 1926, Farnsworth formed a research partnership with George Everson in Salt Lake City to develop Farnsworth's television ideas. Farnsworth moved to Los Angeles to carry out research. Within months, he was ready to demonstrate his models and blueprints to a patent attorney who was a national authority on electrophysics. They agreed Farnsworth should apply for patents, which became critical to later disputes with RCA. To that point the development of television relied on mechanical whirling disks to scan the image. Farnsworth's innovation was to recognize that a satisfactory image, using whirling disks, would require a speed that was a mechanical impossibility, and that his own all-electronic system could produce an image for broadcast much more effectively.[4].
On September 7, 1927, Farnsworth's Image Dissector camera tube transmitted its first image, a simple straight line, at his laboratory at 202 Green Street in San Francisco. The source of the image was a glass slide, backlit by an arc lamp. This was due to the lack of light sensitivity of the Image Dissector tube design. By 1928, Farnsworth had developed the system sufficiently to hold a demonstration for the press. His backers had demanded to know when they would see dollars from the invention.Schwartz, Evan I., 2002. ''The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit & the Birth of Television''. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-621069-0 The first image shown to them was a dollar sign. In 1929, the system was further improved by elimination of a motor-generator; the television system now had no mechanical moving parts. That year, Farnsworth transmitted the first human images using his television system, including a three and a half-inch image of his wife with her eyes closed.
In 1930, Vladimir Zworykin, who had been developing his own all-electronic television system at Westinghouse, in Pittsburgh, since 1923, was recruited by RCA and visited Farnsworth's laboratory under false pretenses (ostensibly representing Westinghouse as a customer, but actually gathering information for RCA as a competitor). Zworykin was impressed with the performance of the Image Dissector and had his engineers make a working copy of it. In 1931, David Sarnoff of RCA offered to buy Farnsworth's patents for $100,000, but was refused; in June of that year Farnsworth joined the Philco company and moved his laboratory to Philadelphia, along with his wife and two children.
When Farnsworth traveled to England in 1932 while raising money in his legal battles with RCA, he met with John Logie Baird, a Scottish inventor who had developed mechanical-scan cameras, and was seeking to develop electronic television receivers. Baird demonstrated his mechanical system for Farnsworth. According to Farnsworth accounts, Baird explained "the superiority of his system to Farnsworth", but after watching several minutes of Farnsworth's version, he left the room without a word, "having realized the futility of his efforts". Baird had in fact supported a merger with Farnsworth's competitors in the U.K., the Marconi Company. Marconi had a patent-sharing agreement with RCA, however Baird company directors decided instead to merge with Farnsworth. Baird's company directors paid Farnsworth $50,000 to supply electronic television equipment, and provide access to Farnsworth's television patents. Baird and Farnsworth competed with EMI for forming the standard U.K. television system. EMI however, merged with Marconi in 1934, gaining access to the RCA patents. After trials of both systems, the BBC committee chose the Marconi-EMI system, which was by then virtually identical to RCA's (Zworykin's) system.
After sailing to Europe in 1934, Farnsworth also secured an agreement with the Goerz-Bosch-Fernseh interests in Germany.[4]
Philco denied Farnsworth time to travel to Utah to bury his young son Kenny, who died in March 1932; this death put a strain on Farnsworth's marriage and may have marked the beginning of his struggle with depression. Since RCA controlled key patents and manufacture of radio tubes, Philco was reportedly persuaded to sever its relationship with Farnsworth in 1934. However, the October 3, 1936 edition of Collier's Magazine reported that Philco was Farnsworth's only major licensee in the United States, raising doubts about whether Philco severed its relationship.
Farnsworth returned to his lab. By 1936, Farnsworth's company was transmitting regular entertainment programs experimentally. In addition, Farnsworth, working with University of Pennsylvania biologists, developed a process for passing radio waves through milk to sterilize it. He had also invented a fog-penetrating beam for ships and airplanes.[4]
In 1938, he established the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with E.A. Nicholas as president, and himself as director of research. In 1939, Farnsworth sold his television patents to RCA Victor for $1 million. The New York World's Fair showcased electronic television sets in April 1939, and soon afterward, RCA electronic televisions went on sale to the public.
Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation was purchased by International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) in 1951. During his time at ITT, Farnsworth worked in a basement lab known as “the cave†on Pontiac Street in Fort Wayne. From here he introduced a number of breakthrough concepts, including: a defense early warning signal, submarine detection devices, radar calibration equipment, and an infrared telescope. “Philo was a very deep person – tough to engage in conversation because he was always thinking about what he could do next,†says Art Resler, an ITT photographer who documented Farnsworth’s work in pictures.[7] One of Farnsworth's most significant contributions at ITT was the PPI Projector, which allowed safe control of air traffic from the ground. This system developed in the 1950s was the forerunner of today’s sophisticated air traffic control systems.
In addition to his electronics research, ITT management agreed to nominally fund Farnsworth's controlled fusion ideas. He and staff members invented and refined a series of fusion reaction tubes called "fusors." For scientific reasons unknown to Farnsworth and his staff, the necessary reactions lasted no longer than thirty seconds. In December 1965, ITT came under pressure from its board of directors to terminate the expensive fusion research and sell the Farnsworth subsidiary. It was only from the urging of President Harold Geneen that the 1966 budget was accepted, permitting ITT's fusion research one additional year. However, the stress associated with this managerial ultimatum threw Farnsworth into relapse. One year later he was terminated and eventually allowed medical retirement. Biography of Philo Taylor Farnsworth
In the spring of 1967, Farnsworth and his family moved back to Utah to continue his fusion research at Brigham Young University, which presented him with an honorary doctorate. The university also offered him office space and an underground concrete bunker location for the project. Realizing the fusion lab was to be dismantled at ITT, Farnsworth invited staff members to accompany him to Salt Lake City as team members in his planned Philo T. Farnsworth Associates (PTFA) organization. By late 1968 the associates began holding regular business meetings and PTFA was underway. However, although a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was promptly secured and more possibilities were within reach, the financing needed to pay the $24,000 in monthly expenses for equipment rental and salaries was stalled.
By Christmas 1970, PTFA had failed to secure the necessary financing, the Farnsworth's had sold all their own ITT stock and cashed out Philo's life insurance policy to maintain organization stability. The underwriter had failed to provide the financial backing that was to have supported the organization during its critical first year. The banks called-in all outstanding loans. Repossession notices were placed on anything not previously sold and the Internal Revenue Service put a lock on the laboratory door until delinquent taxes were paid. During January 1970, Philo T. Farnsworth Associates disbanded. Farnsworth became seriously ill with pneumonia and died on 11 March 1971.
Although best known for his development of television, Farnsworth was involved in research in many other areas. He invented the first electron microscope and the first infant incubator. He was involved in the development of radar, peacetime uses of atomic energy, and the nuclear fusion process. At his death, Farnsworth held 300 U.S. and foreign patents, and ''Scientific American'' Magazine called him one of the ten greatest mathematicians of his time.
Farnsworth worked out the principle of the image dissector television camera at age 14, and produced the first working version at age 21. A farm boy, his inspiration for the scanning lines of the cathode ray tube (CRT) came from the back-and-forth motion used to plow a field. During a patent lawsuit against RCA in 1935, his high school chemistry teacher, Justin Tolman, reproduced a drawing that Farnsworth, when he was just 14, had made on the blackboard at the school. Farnsworth won the suit and was paid royalties but never became wealthy. The video camera tube developed from a combination of the work of Farnsworth and Zworykin, was used in all television cameras until the late 20th century, when alternate technologies such as charge-coupled devices started to appear.
Farnsworth developed the "image oscillite", a cathode ray tube receiver that could display images captured by the image dissector.
The Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor, or simply fusor, is an apparatus designed by Farnsworth to create nuclear fusion. Unlike most controlled fusion systems, which slowly heat a magnetically confined plasma, the fusor injects high temperature ions directly into a reaction chamber, thereby avoiding a considerable amount of complexity.
When Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor was first introduced to the fusion research world in the late 1960s, the Fusor was the first device that could clearly demonstrate it was producing any fusion reactions at all. Hopes at the time were high that it could be quickly developed into a practical power source. However, as with other fusion experiments, development into a power source has proven difficult. Nevertheless, the fusor has since become a practical neutron source and is produced commercially for this role.
Although he was the man responsible for its technology, Farnsworth appeared only once on a television program. In 1957, he was a mystery guest on the TV quiz show ''I've Got A Secret''. He fielded questions from the panel of celebrities 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.[8]
In a 1996 videotaped interview by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, available on Google video, Elma Farnsworth recounts Phil'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 to earth.
:'Elma Farnsworth:' Right.
:'Interviewer:' What did Phil think of that?
:'Elma Farnsworth:' We were watching it, and, when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, Phil turned to me and said, "Pem, this has made it all worthwhile." Before then, he wasn't too sure.
★ In 2006, Farnsworth was posthumously presented the Eagle Scout award when it was discovered he'd earned it but had never been presented with it. The award was presented to his wife, Pem, who died four months later.[9]
★ Philo's wife, Elma Gardner "Pem" Farnsworth, died on April 27, 2006, at the age of 98.[10] Farnsworth always gave his wife equal credit with himself for creating television, saying "my wife and I started this TV." It was Elma who fought for decades to assure Farnsworth's place in history after his death in 1971.
★ A statue of Farnsworth represents Utah in the National Statuary Hall Collection, located in the U.S. Capitol building.
★ The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker located at 1260 E. Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania commemorating the "Farnsworth Television" shop established there in the summer of 1933. The Plaque reads "Inventor of electronic television, he led some of the first experiments in live local TV broad-casting in the late 1930s from his station W3XPF located on this site. A pioneer in electronics, Farnsworth held many patents and was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame."
★ A plaque honoring Farnsworth as ''The Genius of Green Street'' is located on the 202 Green Street location (37.80037N, 122.40251W) of his research laboratory in San Francisco, California.
★ The scenic "Farnsworth Steps" in San Francisco lead from Willard Street (just above Parnassus) up to Edgewood Avenue, passing Farnsworth's former residence at the top.
★ A plaque honoring Farnsworth is located near his former home in a historical district in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
★ Farnsworth's television-related work, including an original TV tube he developed, are on display at the Farnsworth TV & Pioneer Museum at 118 W. 1st S. Rigby, Idaho.
★ A Farnsworth image dissector is on display at Fry's Electronics in Sunnyvale, California, along with other artifacts of the history of electronics in Silicon Valley.
★ The Philo Awards named after Philo Farnsworth is an annual Public access television competition where the winners receive notice for their efforts in various categories in producing Community Media.
★ ''The West Wing'' writer Aaron Sorkin has written a screenplay about Farnsworth's and RCA's conflict, ''The Farnsworth Invention''. It was originally to be produced as a film, however production was abruptly cancelled in 2005 with no explanation. It is now been produced as an experimental play for the La Jolla Playhouse, California, which opened to a standing ovation on February 20, 2007. The play is now scheduled to open on Broadway at the Music Box Theater in November, 2007. Sorkin's earlier work, ''Sports Night'', features William H. Macy telling a fictionalized anecdote about Farnsworth.
★ The character Professor Farnsworth on the popular animated series ''Futurama'' was named after him. The character Philo from ''UHF'' was also named after him, as he works in a television station. Oliver Farnsworth, a character in the Walter Tevis novel ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' was also named after him.
★ Farnsworth appears as a fictionalized character in Glen David Gold's novel ''Carter Beats the Devil'', in which television gets its first application as part of a magician's stage show.
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Television system (filed 7 January 1927, issued 26 August 1930)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Television receiving system (filed 7 January 1927, issued 26 August 1930)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Electric oscillator system (filed 7 January 1927, issued May 13 1930)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Light valve (filed 7 January 1927, issued 26 May 1931)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Television method (filed 9 January 1928, issued 8 August 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Photoelectric apparatus (filed 9 January 1928, issued 14 August 1934)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Television scanning and synchronization system (filed May 5 1930, issued June 24 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Dissector target (filed 7 July 1930, issued 26 December 1933)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Projecting oscillight (filed 14 July 1931, issued 13 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Scanning oscillator (filed 3 April 1933, issued 3 November 1936)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Image dissector (filed 26 April 1933, issued 20 July 1937)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Oscillation generator (filed 5 July 1934, issued 23 February 1937)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Projection means (filed 6 November 1934, issued 10 January 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Image projector (filed 6 February 1935, issued 4 March 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means of electron multipaction (filed 12 March 1935, issued 10 January 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Oscillator (filed 12 March 1935, issued 26 September 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Amplifier (filed 12 March 1935, issued 12 November 1940)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means for producing incandescent images (filed 7 May 1935, issued 25 April 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Charge storage dissector (filed 6 July 1935, issued 20 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Cathode ray amplifier (filed 6 July 1935, issued 14 January 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Charge storage amplifier (filed 6 July 1935, issued 4 March 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Cathode ray amplifying tube (filed 10 August 1935, issued 29 July 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Charge storage tube (filed 14 September 1935, issued 30 November 1937)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Multipactor oscillator (filed 27 January 1936, issued 22 November 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Scanning current generator (filed 10 February 1936, issued 10 September 1940)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Incandescent light source (filed 9 March 1936, issued 3 August 1937)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Absorption oscillator (filed 9 March 1936, issued 23 May 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Secondary emission electrode (filed 24 March 1936, issued 13 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means and method for producing electronic multiplication (filed 16 May 1936, issued 11 June 1940)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means and method of controlling electron multipliers (filed 16 May 1936, issued 20 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Electron multiplier (filed 18 May 1936, issued 28 October 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Multistage multipactor (filed 1 June 1936, issued 27 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Image dissector (filed 18 August 1936, issued 1 October 1940)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means and method of operating electron multipliers (filed 18 August 1936, issued 30 August 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Repeater (filed 31 October 1936, issued 10 January 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Cathode ray tube (filed 2 November 1936, issued 13 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : High power projection oscillograph (filed 2 November 1936, issued 22 February 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Cold cathode electron discharge tube (filed 4 November 1936, issued 26 December 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Electron multiplier (filed 9 November 1936, issued 14 November 1939)
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : X-ray projection device
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : Cold cathode electron discharge tube
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : Electric discharge device for producing interaction between nuclei
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : Method and apparatus for producing nuclear fusion reactions
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : Electrostatic containment in fusion reactors
Although Philo T. Farnsworth is sometimes quoted as telling his son Kent, with regard to television:
:“''There’s nothing on it worthwhile, and we’re not going to watch it in this household, and I don’t want it in your intellectual diet.''â€
His family's website makes it clear that this is Kent's summation of his father's view, rather than a quote.
1. Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Mormonism, Drew Williams near, , , Alpha Books, 2003,
2. Collier's Magazine, October 3, 1936
3. FARNSWORTH, PHILO: U.S. Inventor
4. Collier's Magazine October 3, 1936
5. Collier's Magazine October 3, 1936
6. Collier's Magazine October 3, 1936
7. ITT, Advancing Human Progress
8. The Farnsworth Chronicles
9. TV Pioneer Recognized as Eagle Scout, , , , Eagletter, Fall 2006
10. Elma Farnsworth, widow of TV pioneer, dies at 98 Debbie Hummel
★ Farnsworth, Elma Gardner, 1989. ''Distant Vision: Romance & Discovery on an Invisible Frontier''. Salt Lake City UT: Pemberley Kent Publishers.
★ Fisher, David E. and Marshall J., 1996. ''Tube, the Invention of Television''. Washington D.C.: Counterpoint. ISBN 1-887178-17-1
★ Godfrey, D. G., 2001. ''Philo T. Farnsworth: The Father of Television''. University of Utah Press. ISBN 0-87480-675-5
★ Schatzkin, Paul, 2002. ''The Boy Who Invented Television''. Silver Spring MD: Teamcom Books. ISBN 1-928791-30-1
★ Schwartz, Evan I., 2002. ''The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit & the Birth of Television''. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-060935-59-6
★ Stashower, Daniel, 2002. ''The Boy Genius and the Mogul: The Untold Story of Television''. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0759-0
★ Official Homepage: “Philo. T Farnsworth Archives†(managed by Farnsworth heirs)
★ National Inventors Hall of Fame profile
★ Philo Farnsworth photo archive
★ Rigby, Idaho: Birthplace of Television (Jefferson County Historical Society and Museum)
★ The Boy Who Invented Television; by Paul Schatzkin
★ Television Timeline
★ 1939 Farnsworth Article (from the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)
★ Philo Farnsworth's Gravesite
★ Biography resources dedicated to Philo Farnsworth
★ YouTube video of Farnsworth on Television's "I've Got a Secret"
★ The Farnsworth Invention on Broadway
In his later life, Farnsworth also invented a small nuclear fusion device known as a fusor.
| Contents |
| History |
| Early life |
| Career |
| Inventions |
| Electronic television |
| Fusor |
| Appearances on television |
| Memorials |
| Patents |
| Misquote |
| References |
| Further reading |
| External links |
History
Many inventors had written about, worked on or built various electro-''mechanical'' television systems prior to Farnsworth's seminal contribution (including Alexander Bain, Paul Nipkow, Aleksandr Stoletov, Karl Ferdinand Braun, Boris Rosing, Herbert E. Ives, and John Logie Baird). Several inventors also wrote about, devised or built electronic apparatus prior to Farnsworth, including Boris Rosing, Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton, Kalman Tihanyi, Vladimir Zworykin and Kenjiro Takayanagi. Farnsworth made the world's first working television system with electronic scanning of both the pickup and display devices, which he first demonstrated to news media on September 1, 1928, televising a motion picture film; and to the public at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on August 25, 1934, televising live images.
In 1930, after a visit to Farnsworth's laboratory, Vladimir Zworykin copied this apparatus for RCA. The U.S. Patent Office rendered a decision in 1935 that a machine built to Zworykin's electronic television patent design of 1923 would produce largely meaningless shades of darkness and light, and was "an entirely different design" from the one described by RCA witnesses. Priority of invention was awarded to Farnsworth, based on his 1927 patent application, issued in 1930. Key aspects of Farnsworth's 1930 camera and receiver designs remain in use today.
Early life
Farnsworth was born into a Mormon family[1] in Beaver, Utah on August 19, 1906. His father later moved the family to Rigby, Idaho, where he worked as a sharecropper. When they moved to their new home, Philo was apparently excited to find it was wired for electrical power, something that was still fairly rare at that point, at least in the countryside. It had electric lighting, and power hoists to lift hay into the barn. Farnsworth converted a washing machine from hand to electric power by winding an armature to construct an electric motor.[2] Young Philo developed an early interest in electronics after his first telephone conversation with an out-of-state relative and the discovery of a large cache of technology magazines in the attic of the family’s new home.
Farnsworth excelled in chemistry and physics at Rigby High School, and produced sketches and prototypes of electron tubes. One of the drawings he did for his chemistry teacher, Justin Tolman, proved to be the pattern for his later experiments in electronics and was instrumental in winning a patent interference case between Farnsworth and Radio Corporation of America (RCA).[3]
Philo took violin lessons from Reuben Wilkins in Ucon, Idaho. He enrolled at Brigham Young University in 1923.
After a brief stint in the Navy, Farnsworth returned to Idaho to help support his mother. He later moved to the San Francisco Bay area with his bride, Elma “Pem†Gardner Farnsworth (February 25, 1908 - April 27, 2006). A local philanthropist managing a community chest agreed to fund Farnsworth's early television experiments (see below).
Career
In 1926, Farnsworth formed a research partnership with George Everson in Salt Lake City to develop Farnsworth's television ideas. Farnsworth moved to Los Angeles to carry out research. Within months, he was ready to demonstrate his models and blueprints to a patent attorney who was a national authority on electrophysics. They agreed Farnsworth should apply for patents, which became critical to later disputes with RCA. To that point the development of television relied on mechanical whirling disks to scan the image. Farnsworth's innovation was to recognize that a satisfactory image, using whirling disks, would require a speed that was a mechanical impossibility, and that his own all-electronic system could produce an image for broadcast much more effectively.[4].
On September 7, 1927, Farnsworth's Image Dissector camera tube transmitted its first image, a simple straight line, at his laboratory at 202 Green Street in San Francisco. The source of the image was a glass slide, backlit by an arc lamp. This was due to the lack of light sensitivity of the Image Dissector tube design. By 1928, Farnsworth had developed the system sufficiently to hold a demonstration for the press. His backers had demanded to know when they would see dollars from the invention.Schwartz, Evan I., 2002. ''The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit & the Birth of Television''. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-621069-0 The first image shown to them was a dollar sign. In 1929, the system was further improved by elimination of a motor-generator; the television system now had no mechanical moving parts. That year, Farnsworth transmitted the first human images using his television system, including a three and a half-inch image of his wife with her eyes closed.
In 1930, Vladimir Zworykin, who had been developing his own all-electronic television system at Westinghouse, in Pittsburgh, since 1923, was recruited by RCA and visited Farnsworth's laboratory under false pretenses (ostensibly representing Westinghouse as a customer, but actually gathering information for RCA as a competitor). Zworykin was impressed with the performance of the Image Dissector and had his engineers make a working copy of it. In 1931, David Sarnoff of RCA offered to buy Farnsworth's patents for $100,000, but was refused; in June of that year Farnsworth joined the Philco company and moved his laboratory to Philadelphia, along with his wife and two children.
When Farnsworth traveled to England in 1932 while raising money in his legal battles with RCA, he met with John Logie Baird, a Scottish inventor who had developed mechanical-scan cameras, and was seeking to develop electronic television receivers. Baird demonstrated his mechanical system for Farnsworth. According to Farnsworth accounts, Baird explained "the superiority of his system to Farnsworth", but after watching several minutes of Farnsworth's version, he left the room without a word, "having realized the futility of his efforts". Baird had in fact supported a merger with Farnsworth's competitors in the U.K., the Marconi Company. Marconi had a patent-sharing agreement with RCA, however Baird company directors decided instead to merge with Farnsworth. Baird's company directors paid Farnsworth $50,000 to supply electronic television equipment, and provide access to Farnsworth's television patents. Baird and Farnsworth competed with EMI for forming the standard U.K. television system. EMI however, merged with Marconi in 1934, gaining access to the RCA patents. After trials of both systems, the BBC committee chose the Marconi-EMI system, which was by then virtually identical to RCA's (Zworykin's) system.
After sailing to Europe in 1934, Farnsworth also secured an agreement with the Goerz-Bosch-Fernseh interests in Germany.[4]
Philco denied Farnsworth time to travel to Utah to bury his young son Kenny, who died in March 1932; this death put a strain on Farnsworth's marriage and may have marked the beginning of his struggle with depression. Since RCA controlled key patents and manufacture of radio tubes, Philco was reportedly persuaded to sever its relationship with Farnsworth in 1934. However, the October 3, 1936 edition of Collier's Magazine reported that Philco was Farnsworth's only major licensee in the United States, raising doubts about whether Philco severed its relationship.
Farnsworth returned to his lab. By 1936, Farnsworth's company was transmitting regular entertainment programs experimentally. In addition, Farnsworth, working with University of Pennsylvania biologists, developed a process for passing radio waves through milk to sterilize it. He had also invented a fog-penetrating beam for ships and airplanes.[4]
In 1938, he established the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with E.A. Nicholas as president, and himself as director of research. In 1939, Farnsworth sold his television patents to RCA Victor for $1 million. The New York World's Fair showcased electronic television sets in April 1939, and soon afterward, RCA electronic televisions went on sale to the public.
Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation was purchased by International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) in 1951. During his time at ITT, Farnsworth worked in a basement lab known as “the cave†on Pontiac Street in Fort Wayne. From here he introduced a number of breakthrough concepts, including: a defense early warning signal, submarine detection devices, radar calibration equipment, and an infrared telescope. “Philo was a very deep person – tough to engage in conversation because he was always thinking about what he could do next,†says Art Resler, an ITT photographer who documented Farnsworth’s work in pictures.[7] One of Farnsworth's most significant contributions at ITT was the PPI Projector, which allowed safe control of air traffic from the ground. This system developed in the 1950s was the forerunner of today’s sophisticated air traffic control systems.
In addition to his electronics research, ITT management agreed to nominally fund Farnsworth's controlled fusion ideas. He and staff members invented and refined a series of fusion reaction tubes called "fusors." For scientific reasons unknown to Farnsworth and his staff, the necessary reactions lasted no longer than thirty seconds. In December 1965, ITT came under pressure from its board of directors to terminate the expensive fusion research and sell the Farnsworth subsidiary. It was only from the urging of President Harold Geneen that the 1966 budget was accepted, permitting ITT's fusion research one additional year. However, the stress associated with this managerial ultimatum threw Farnsworth into relapse. One year later he was terminated and eventually allowed medical retirement. Biography of Philo Taylor Farnsworth
In the spring of 1967, Farnsworth and his family moved back to Utah to continue his fusion research at Brigham Young University, which presented him with an honorary doctorate. The university also offered him office space and an underground concrete bunker location for the project. Realizing the fusion lab was to be dismantled at ITT, Farnsworth invited staff members to accompany him to Salt Lake City as team members in his planned Philo T. Farnsworth Associates (PTFA) organization. By late 1968 the associates began holding regular business meetings and PTFA was underway. However, although a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was promptly secured and more possibilities were within reach, the financing needed to pay the $24,000 in monthly expenses for equipment rental and salaries was stalled.
By Christmas 1970, PTFA had failed to secure the necessary financing, the Farnsworth's had sold all their own ITT stock and cashed out Philo's life insurance policy to maintain organization stability. The underwriter had failed to provide the financial backing that was to have supported the organization during its critical first year. The banks called-in all outstanding loans. Repossession notices were placed on anything not previously sold and the Internal Revenue Service put a lock on the laboratory door until delinquent taxes were paid. During January 1970, Philo T. Farnsworth Associates disbanded. Farnsworth became seriously ill with pneumonia and died on 11 March 1971.
Although best known for his development of television, Farnsworth was involved in research in many other areas. He invented the first electron microscope and the first infant incubator. He was involved in the development of radar, peacetime uses of atomic energy, and the nuclear fusion process. At his death, Farnsworth held 300 U.S. and foreign patents, and ''Scientific American'' Magazine called him one of the ten greatest mathematicians of his time.
Inventions
Electronic television
Farnsworth worked out the principle of the image dissector television camera at age 14, and produced the first working version at age 21. A farm boy, his inspiration for the scanning lines of the cathode ray tube (CRT) came from the back-and-forth motion used to plow a field. During a patent lawsuit against RCA in 1935, his high school chemistry teacher, Justin Tolman, reproduced a drawing that Farnsworth, when he was just 14, had made on the blackboard at the school. Farnsworth won the suit and was paid royalties but never became wealthy. The video camera tube developed from a combination of the work of Farnsworth and Zworykin, was used in all television cameras until the late 20th century, when alternate technologies such as charge-coupled devices started to appear.
Farnsworth developed the "image oscillite", a cathode ray tube receiver that could display images captured by the image dissector.
Fusor
The Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor, or simply fusor, is an apparatus designed by Farnsworth to create nuclear fusion. Unlike most controlled fusion systems, which slowly heat a magnetically confined plasma, the fusor injects high temperature ions directly into a reaction chamber, thereby avoiding a considerable amount of complexity.
When Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor was first introduced to the fusion research world in the late 1960s, the Fusor was the first device that could clearly demonstrate it was producing any fusion reactions at all. Hopes at the time were high that it could be quickly developed into a practical power source. However, as with other fusion experiments, development into a power source has proven difficult. Nevertheless, the fusor has since become a practical neutron source and is produced commercially for this role.
Appearances on television
Although he was the man responsible for its technology, Farnsworth appeared only once on a television program. In 1957, he was a mystery guest on the TV quiz show ''I've Got A Secret''. He fielded questions from the panel of celebrities 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.[8]
In a 1996 videotaped interview by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, available on Google video, Elma Farnsworth recounts Phil'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 to earth.
:'Elma Farnsworth:' Right.
:'Interviewer:' What did Phil think of that?
:'Elma Farnsworth:' We were watching it, and, when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, Phil turned to me and said, "Pem, this has made it all worthwhile." Before then, he wasn't too sure.
Memorials
The plaque on Green Street.
★ In 2006, Farnsworth was posthumously presented the Eagle Scout award when it was discovered he'd earned it but had never been presented with it. The award was presented to his wife, Pem, who died four months later.[9]
★ Philo's wife, Elma Gardner "Pem" Farnsworth, died on April 27, 2006, at the age of 98.[10] Farnsworth always gave his wife equal credit with himself for creating television, saying "my wife and I started this TV." It was Elma who fought for decades to assure Farnsworth's place in history after his death in 1971.
★ A statue of Farnsworth represents Utah in the National Statuary Hall Collection, located in the U.S. Capitol building.
★ The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker located at 1260 E. Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania commemorating the "Farnsworth Television" shop established there in the summer of 1933. The Plaque reads "Inventor of electronic television, he led some of the first experiments in live local TV broad-casting in the late 1930s from his station W3XPF located on this site. A pioneer in electronics, Farnsworth held many patents and was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame."
★ A plaque honoring Farnsworth as ''The Genius of Green Street'' is located on the 202 Green Street location (37.80037N, 122.40251W) of his research laboratory in San Francisco, California.
★ The scenic "Farnsworth Steps" in San Francisco lead from Willard Street (just above Parnassus) up to Edgewood Avenue, passing Farnsworth's former residence at the top.
★ A plaque honoring Farnsworth is located near his former home in a historical district in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
★ Farnsworth's television-related work, including an original TV tube he developed, are on display at the Farnsworth TV & Pioneer Museum at 118 W. 1st S. Rigby, Idaho.
★ A Farnsworth image dissector is on display at Fry's Electronics in Sunnyvale, California, along with other artifacts of the history of electronics in Silicon Valley.
★ The Philo Awards named after Philo Farnsworth is an annual Public access television competition where the winners receive notice for their efforts in various categories in producing Community Media.
★ ''The West Wing'' writer Aaron Sorkin has written a screenplay about Farnsworth's and RCA's conflict, ''The Farnsworth Invention''. It was originally to be produced as a film, however production was abruptly cancelled in 2005 with no explanation. It is now been produced as an experimental play for the La Jolla Playhouse, California, which opened to a standing ovation on February 20, 2007. The play is now scheduled to open on Broadway at the Music Box Theater in November, 2007. Sorkin's earlier work, ''Sports Night'', features William H. Macy telling a fictionalized anecdote about Farnsworth.
★ The character Professor Farnsworth on the popular animated series ''Futurama'' was named after him. The character Philo from ''UHF'' was also named after him, as he works in a television station. Oliver Farnsworth, a character in the Walter Tevis novel ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' was also named after him.
★ Farnsworth appears as a fictionalized character in Glen David Gold's novel ''Carter Beats the Devil'', in which television gets its first application as part of a magician's stage show.
Patents
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Television system (filed 7 January 1927, issued 26 August 1930)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Television receiving system (filed 7 January 1927, issued 26 August 1930)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Electric oscillator system (filed 7 January 1927, issued May 13 1930)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Light valve (filed 7 January 1927, issued 26 May 1931)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Television method (filed 9 January 1928, issued 8 August 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Photoelectric apparatus (filed 9 January 1928, issued 14 August 1934)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Television scanning and synchronization system (filed May 5 1930, issued June 24 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Dissector target (filed 7 July 1930, issued 26 December 1933)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Projecting oscillight (filed 14 July 1931, issued 13 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Scanning oscillator (filed 3 April 1933, issued 3 November 1936)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Image dissector (filed 26 April 1933, issued 20 July 1937)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Oscillation generator (filed 5 July 1934, issued 23 February 1937)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Projection means (filed 6 November 1934, issued 10 January 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Image projector (filed 6 February 1935, issued 4 March 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means of electron multipaction (filed 12 March 1935, issued 10 January 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Oscillator (filed 12 March 1935, issued 26 September 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Amplifier (filed 12 March 1935, issued 12 November 1940)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means for producing incandescent images (filed 7 May 1935, issued 25 April 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Charge storage dissector (filed 6 July 1935, issued 20 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Cathode ray amplifier (filed 6 July 1935, issued 14 January 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Charge storage amplifier (filed 6 July 1935, issued 4 March 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Cathode ray amplifying tube (filed 10 August 1935, issued 29 July 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Charge storage tube (filed 14 September 1935, issued 30 November 1937)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Multipactor oscillator (filed 27 January 1936, issued 22 November 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Scanning current generator (filed 10 February 1936, issued 10 September 1940)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Incandescent light source (filed 9 March 1936, issued 3 August 1937)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Absorption oscillator (filed 9 March 1936, issued 23 May 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Secondary emission electrode (filed 24 March 1936, issued 13 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means and method for producing electronic multiplication (filed 16 May 1936, issued 11 June 1940)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means and method of controlling electron multipliers (filed 16 May 1936, issued 20 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Electron multiplier (filed 18 May 1936, issued 28 October 1941)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Multistage multipactor (filed 1 June 1936, issued 27 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Image dissector (filed 18 August 1936, issued 1 October 1940)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Means and method of operating electron multipliers (filed 18 August 1936, issued 30 August 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Repeater (filed 31 October 1936, issued 10 January 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Cathode ray tube (filed 2 November 1936, issued 13 December 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : High power projection oscillograph (filed 2 November 1936, issued 22 February 1938)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Cold cathode electron discharge tube (filed 4 November 1936, issued 26 December 1939)
★ Philo T. Farnsworth, : Electron multiplier (filed 9 November 1936, issued 14 November 1939)
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : X-ray projection device
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : Cold cathode electron discharge tube
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : Electric discharge device for producing interaction between nuclei
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : Method and apparatus for producing nuclear fusion reactions
★ P.T. Farnsworth, : Electrostatic containment in fusion reactors
Misquote
Although Philo T. Farnsworth is sometimes quoted as telling his son Kent, with regard to television:
:“''There’s nothing on it worthwhile, and we’re not going to watch it in this household, and I don’t want it in your intellectual diet.''â€
His family's website makes it clear that this is Kent's summation of his father's view, rather than a quote.
References
1. Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Mormonism, Drew Williams near, , , Alpha Books, 2003,
2. Collier's Magazine, October 3, 1936
3. FARNSWORTH, PHILO: U.S. Inventor
4. Collier's Magazine October 3, 1936
5. Collier's Magazine October 3, 1936
6. Collier's Magazine October 3, 1936
7. ITT, Advancing Human Progress
8. The Farnsworth Chronicles
9. TV Pioneer Recognized as Eagle Scout, , , , Eagletter, Fall 2006
10. Elma Farnsworth, widow of TV pioneer, dies at 98 Debbie Hummel
Further reading
★ Farnsworth, Elma Gardner, 1989. ''Distant Vision: Romance & Discovery on an Invisible Frontier''. Salt Lake City UT: Pemberley Kent Publishers.
★ Fisher, David E. and Marshall J., 1996. ''Tube, the Invention of Television''. Washington D.C.: Counterpoint. ISBN 1-887178-17-1
★ Godfrey, D. G., 2001. ''Philo T. Farnsworth: The Father of Television''. University of Utah Press. ISBN 0-87480-675-5
★ Schatzkin, Paul, 2002. ''The Boy Who Invented Television''. Silver Spring MD: Teamcom Books. ISBN 1-928791-30-1
★ Schwartz, Evan I., 2002. ''The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit & the Birth of Television''. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-060935-59-6
★ Stashower, Daniel, 2002. ''The Boy Genius and the Mogul: The Untold Story of Television''. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0759-0
External links
★ Official Homepage: “Philo. T Farnsworth Archives†(managed by Farnsworth heirs)
★ National Inventors Hall of Fame profile
★ Philo Farnsworth photo archive
★ Rigby, Idaho: Birthplace of Television (Jefferson County Historical Society and Museum)
★ The Boy Who Invented Television; by Paul Schatzkin
★ Television Timeline
★ 1939 Farnsworth Article (from the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)
★ Philo Farnsworth's Gravesite
★ Biography resources dedicated to Philo Farnsworth
★ YouTube video of Farnsworth on Television's "I've Got a Secret"
★ The Farnsworth Invention on Broadway
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