Farnsworth, Philo T

Farnsworth, Philo T(aylor)

(born Aug. 19, 1906, Beaver, Utah, U.S.—died March 11, 1971, Salt Lake City, Utah) U.S. engineer and pioneer inventor in the development of television. In 1927 he successfully transmitted the first image using electronic means. By 1930 he was perfecting an electronic camera tube, the Image Dissector, which he demonstrated to rival inventor Vladimir Zworykin of Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Through the 1930s Farnsworth engaged in lawsuits against RCA, both sides claiming the invention of electronic television. In 1939 RCA agreed to pay him royalties as part of a patent-licensing agreement; that same year RCA introduced the first successful television system. Farnsworth went on to patent many other inventions, but he never achieved financial success or primary credit for inventing television.