Philo T. Farnsworth: The Father of Television - Essay Example

During that period, nobody including Farnsworth’s teacher had heard about television, which was primarily known as a piece of device that scanned pictures through a spinning disc with holes, then produced tiny, unstable images of what was scanned on the screen (Godfrey 272). Farnsworth’s father died two years after he joined Brigham Young University, and this forced him to take a public works job in Salt Lake City to support his family.

This, however, did not stop him from pursuing his career dream, and one year later (1927), he demonstrated the first all-electronic television in San Francisco (Godfrey 274). This invention earned him more funding and complicated competition in setting trends and standards in the electronic industry. Farnsworth won a patent for his all-electronic television in 1930. In the same year, Vladimir of RCA, inventor of a television that utilizes a Cathode ray tube (1928), visited his laboratory and was amazed by Farnsworth’s technological advancements (Godfrey 275).

This created a long-term patent battle, which forced RCA to pay Farnsworth $1 million for patent battle licenses for TV synchronizing, focusing, contrast, scanning, and control devices. Other than the all-electronic television, Farnsworth is also credited for inventing the “cold” cathode ray tube, the first electronic microscope, a baby incubator, and an air traffic control device (Godfrey 275). Since 1950, his area of interest was nuclear fusion. He died of pneumonia in 1971 before completing his fusion project.

By the time he died, he had won over 300 United States and foreign patents for electronics and mechanics.