The history of radio technology is clearly understood. There is little doubt as to who did what technically, and who did what to whom. Television has a much muddier picture, because there were many people working independently on its creation.
Edwin Armstrong made AM radio practical and he invented FM radio. Philo Farnsworth invented purely electronic (as distinct from mechanical) television. Both men were destroyed by David Sarnoff, a founder of RCA and its longtime chairman. More about “General” Sarnoff later.
AT&T — the original Ma Bell — had one of the labs that was trying to come up with a working TV system. In April, 1927, two months before my late mother was born, AT&T demonstrated mechanical television with 50 lines of resolution. Click here to read a bit about it, and see a simulation of how the picture may have looked. The photo above is of Edna Mae Horner, “one good-looking girl with fluffy hair,” who appeared on camera during the demonstration.
