Philo Farnsworth

inventor · television · American history · innovation

Teen Inventor. Philo Farnsworth was only 21 years old when he got the first U.S. patent for television. He figured out how to capture moving pictures and send them through the air so people could watch them at home.

The Image Dissector. Farnsworth invented a special camera tube called the image dissector that could turn what it saw into electrical signals. These signals could then be sent through wires or broadcast through the air to television sets.

Made TVs for Everyone. Through his Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he built and sold complete television systems from 1938 to 1951. People could buy both the camera that recorded shows and the receiver that displayed them at home.

Picture in Motion. Before Farnsworth's invention, there was no way to watch moving pictures in your own home. His television system made entertainment available to families everywhere and started the TV age.