Allen B. DuMont | |
|---|---|
 DuMont with first 21-inch color TV picture tube (1954) | |
| Born | Allen Balcom DuMont January 29, 1901 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | 14 November 1965 (aged 64) Montclair, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| Known for | Cathode ray tube radar founded DuMont Television Network |
| Awards | First recipient of the Westinghouse Award (later the Intel Science Talent Search, then the Regeneron Science Talent Search) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electronics engineer |
| Institutions | Westinghouse Lamp Company de Forest Radio Telephone & Telegraph Company Allen B. DuMont Laboratories |
Allen Balcom DuMont, also spelled Du Mont, (January 29, 1901 – November 14, 1965) was an American electronics engineer, scientist and inventor who improved the cathode ray tube in 1931 for use in television receivers. Seven years later he manufactured and sold the first commercially practical television set to the public. In June 1938, his Model 180 television receiver was the first all-electronic television set sold to the public, a few months prior to RCA's first TV set in April 1939. In 1946, DuMont founded the first television network to be licensed, the DuMont Television Network, by linking station WABD (named for DuMont, later becoming WNEW and then WNYW) in New York City to station W3XWT, which later became WTTG, in Washington, D.C. WTTG was named for Dr. Thomas T. Goldsmith, DuMont's Vice President of Research, and his best friend. DuMont's successes in television picture tubes, TV sets and components and his involvement in commercial TV broadcasting made him the first millionaire in the business.