Philo Farnsworth

For the American physician, see Philo Judson Farnsworth.

Philo T. Farnsworth
Farnsworth in 1936
Born
Philo Taylor Farnsworth

(1906-08-19)August 19, 1906
Beaver, Utah, U.S.[1]
Died(1971-03-11)March 11, 1971 (aged 64)
Holladay, Utah, U.S.
Resting placeProvo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah, U.S.
Employer(s)Philco, Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation, International Telephone and Telegraph
Known forInventor of the first fully electronic television; over 169 United States and foreign patents
SpouseElma "Pem" Gardner (1908–2006)
Children4 sons
RelativesAgnes Ann Farnsworth (sister)

Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor and television pioneer.[2][3] He made the critical contributions to electronic television that made possible all the video in the world today.[4] He is best known for his 1927 invention of the first fully functional all-electronic image pickup device (video camera tube), the image dissector, as well as the first fully functional and complete all-electronic television system.[5][6] Farnsworth developed a television system complete with receiver and camera—which he produced commercially through the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation from 1938 to 1951, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[7][8]

In later life, Farnsworth invented a small nuclear fusion device, the Farnsworth Fusor, employing inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC). Like many fusion devices, it was not a practical device for generating nuclear power, although it provides a viable source of neutrons.[9] The design of this device has been the inspiration for other fusion approaches, including the Polywell reactor concept.[10] Farnsworth held 300 patents, mostly in radio and television.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference db3-sql.staff.library.utah.edu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Philo T. Farnsworth dies at 64, known as father of television". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. (obituary). March 12, 1971. p. B1.
  3. ^ Obituary Variety, March 17, 1971, p. 79.
  4. ^ Schatzkin, Paul. "Who Invented What – And When?". The Farnsworth Chronicles: Who Invented What – And When?. www.farnovision.com. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  5. ^ "New Television System Uses 'Magnetic Lens'". Popular Mechanics, Dec. 1934, p. 838–839. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  6. ^ Burns, R. W. (1998), Television: An international history of the formative years. IET History of Technology Series, 22. London: The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), p. 370. ISBN 0-85296-914-7.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Everson1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "ITT, Advancing Human Progress". ITT. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
  9. ^ Miley, GH; Sved, J (October 2000). "The IEC star-mode fusion neutron source for NAA – status and next-step designs". Appl Radiat Isot. 53 (4–5): 779–783. Bibcode:2000AppRI..53..779M. doi:10.1016/s0969-8043(00)00215-3. PMID 11003520.
  10. ^ Bussard, Robert W.; Mark Duncan. "Should Google Go Nuclear" (PDF). Askmar.com. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2012.