History

2022

September 2023

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Visit https://www.census.gov/history every month for the latest Census History Home Page!

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U.S. Census Bureau History: Philo Farnsworth and the Invention of Television

Despite winning a years-long legal battle against RCA Corporation in 1935, Philo Farnsworth (center)—the "undisputed inventor
of television"—received little fame or money for the millions of television sets found in nearly every American household
before his death in 1971.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

On September 3, 1928, 22-year-old inventor Philo T. Farnsworth demonstrated his electronic television to reporters at his San Francisco, CA, laboratory. It would be decades before widespread television ownership became a reality, with millions of sets sold annually by the 1960s. Today, nearly every home in the United States—and the majority of homes worldwide—own at least one television, making it one of the most important technological innovations in history.

Philo T. Farnsworth was not the typical inventor and certainly not formally trained to undertake the monumental technological advances needed to develop television and television broadcasting. When he conceived the idea for television, Farnsworth was still a teenager attending Rigby High School in Jefferson County, ID. His science teachers were astonished by the television sketches Farnsworth provided to explain his concepts. After the Farnsworth family moved to Provo, UT, Philo began studying as a "special student" at Brigham Young University while he completed his high school studies. After his high school graduation, Farnsworth considered enrolling in the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, but realized his television research and future patents could become property of the U.S. government. He chose instead to attend Brigham Young University where he studied electronics and earned a "radiotrician" certification that he used to open a radio repair business in Salt Lake City. The business failed, but Farnsworth met investors who were intrigued by his plans to transmit movie pictures through the air and provided funding for a California laboratory in 1926.

The concepts Farnsworth sketched on his high school's chalkboard as a teenager began taking shape in his laboratories in Los Angeles and later San Francisco, CA. After he accidentally blew an earlier television experiment to pieces, he refined the design and filed for the first of more than 300 patents he received in his lifetime on January 7, 1927. On September 7, 1927, the young inventor used his newly designed image dissector to successfully transmit the image of a single straight line drawn on a glass slide to a receiver in an adjacent room at his laboratory. "There you are," Farnsworth exclaimed, "Electronic television!"

Eight months later, Farnsworth invited his investors to his laboratory for their first demonstration of his invention. They were delighted when Farnsworth broadcast the image of a dollar sign as they imagined the fortune the new technology could earn them. On September 3, 1928, Farnsworth publicly demonstrated television by broadcasting another image through the air for reporters. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the "simplicity" of the invention developed by the "Young Genius" would revolutionize television as it transmitted 20 images per second with each image composed of 8,000 pinpoints of light and viewable on a black and white, 1 1/2 inch square television screen that was slightly larger than a postage stamp. [By comparison, the most popular televisions sold in the United States today are—measured diagonally—32–65 inches, while the largest sets available measure a staggering 146 to 325 inches!]

In a December 14, 1930, New York Times article, Farnsworth explained that he believed households would soon be able to purchase moderately-priced televisions for their homes. He noted that the technology is so simple that if the cathode bulb burned out, the owner could simply install a new one as easily as replacing a light bulb. Television broadcasts would soon be transmitted nationwide using the same or similar technology used by the existing radio broadcasting infrastructure. As Farnsworth toiled in his California laboratory, RCA Corporation President David Sarnoff closely monitored television advances from his New York City, NY, office. The radio executive was keenly aware that television would require his company's radio broadcasting technology, patents, and networks. He was not going to share broadcasting resources and innovations without substantial compensation; and he wanted credit for the development of television for himself. Sarnoff began by hiring Vladimir Zworykin to reverse-engineer Farnsworth's inventions. When Zworykin failed, the RCA mogul visited Philo Farnsworth in person in 1931. During the visit, Sarnoff's offer to purchase Farnsworth's laboratory and patents for $100,000 were quickly rebuffed. Returning to New York empty-handed, the furious RCA president resorted to initiating a years-long legal battle to challenge Farnsworth's patents. Much to Farnsworth's relief, the U.S. Patent Office ruled in 1935 that he was the "undisputed inventor of television." For a 10-year period, RCA paid a licensing fee to produce televisions using Farnsworth's patents. With access to Farnsworth's technology, RCA soon dominated the fledgling television market. In 1939, RCA Corporation sponsored the Television Pavilion at the New York World's Fair where it broadcast the fair's opening ceremony and shipped television sets to department stores where the images drew crowds of awed shoppers.

Although Farnsworth won his patent battle, David Sarnoff and RCA won the war. The 10-year royalty payment agreement between RCA and Farnsworth had limited value after the United States entered World War II and consumer electronics research and development halted in favor of electronics manufacturing for the military. After the war, the Farnsworth Corporation began producing televisions in Fort Wayne, IN. However, just as the post-war nation was prepared to begin a consumer goods buying frenzy, Farnsworth's key television patents and RCA's licensing agreement expired. Much to Philo Farnsworth's dismay, the Radio and Television Manufacturers Association named David Sarnoff "Father of Television" in 1950. The next year, Farnsworth was forced to sell his company after selling just a few thousand televisions. Over the next decade, television ownership jumped from 9 percent of American households in 1950 to 65 percent in 1960. Three-quarters of those television sets (and many of the components produced by its competitors) were sold—royalty free—by David Sarnoff's RCA Corporation.

After the grueling legal battle with RCA and sale of Farnsworth Corporation, Philo Farnsworth continued electronics research and later studied nuclear fusion. He returned to Utah in 1967 to conduct fusion research at Brigham Young University and established Philo T. Farnsworth Associates. Government contracts were unable to keep the new company financially afloat, and it went bankrupt in 1970. Farnsworth died from pneumonia the following year at his home in Holladay, UT.

Philo T. Farnsworth may have become a forgotten footnote in American history books had it not been for a dedicated group of Utah school children. Learning Utah only had one of two allotted statues in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC, the students successfully petitioned Congress to commission a statue of Philo Farnsworth. The life-size bronze statue of Farnsworth holding his early television video camera tube by sculptor James R. Avati was unveiled on May 2, 1990, with the inventor's wife and children in attendance. On the statue's base are the words, "Father of Television."

You can learn more about Philo T. Farnsworth and the television industry he helped create using census data and records. For example:

• Philo T. Farnsworth was born in Beaver, UT, in 1906. Between 1900 and 1910, the town's population grew from 1,701 to 1,899. More recently, the 2020 Census found that Beaver, UT, was home to 3,592 people.
• The Farnsworth family moved to Rigby, ID, in 1918. The town is so proud of their connection to the "Father of Television" that a street, middle school, and local museum are named for the inventor. Even the town's official seal bears the phrase, "The birthplace of TV." When the Farnsworth's were enumerated in Rigby, ID, in 1920, the town had a population of 2,731. More recently, the 2020 Census counted 5,038 living in the Jefferson County city.
• The Census Bureau's censuses and surveys are often the first and most comprehensive tool collecting data on the nation's acceptance of technology. For example, 5 years after Americans listened to President Calvin Coolidge's March 4, 1925, inauguration on their radios, the 1930 Census included radio ownership data from every household in the United States. In 1930, 12,048,762 households (40.3 percent) owned a radio. Introduction of the The Census of Housing in 1940 allowed collection of detailed data about the nation's housing characteristics. Two years after the 1948 debut of the Ed Sullivan Show, the 1950 Census reported that 5,030,270 of households owned a television and 40,411,015 owned a radio. By 1970, nearly as many homes owned a television (95 percent) as owned a radio (98.6 percent). When Apple Computer introduced its Macintosh personal computer in 1984, the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) found that 8 percent of households owned a computer. In 1992, the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) reported that 73.8 percent of households owned a microwave oven and 68.8 percent owned a video cassette recorder. In 1997, the CPS collected data about internet use finding that 18 percent of households used the internet. One year later, SIPP data showed that 36.3 percent of households owned a cell phone. More recently, data collected by the American Community Survey (ACS) showed that nearly 103.7 million households had internet in 2018. In 2021, the ACS reported that more than 121 million of the nation's 127.5 million household had one or more computing devices, including nearly 117.6 million households reporting ownership of a smartphone, tablet, or other portable wireless computer.
• Groucho Marx was a popular radio personality who began hosting the program You Bet Your Life for ABC radio in 1947. Marx became a beloved television star hosting a televised version of You Bet Your Life from 1950 to 1957. Vaudevillian husband-and-wife actors George Burns and Gracie Allen hosted The Burns and Allen Show on radio from 1937 to 1950 before transitioning to an Emmy Award-nominated television series that ran from 1950 to 1958. Comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello hosted one of the most famous radio comedy programs in the United States in 1940, and 1942–1947. Television critics consider The Abbott and Costello television show that ran from 1952 to 1954 to be one of the greatest television programs of all time. Other radio actors who found success on television include Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Dinah Shore, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and Academy Award-winning actor Hattie McDaniel.
• The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series reported that there were 2,450 Television Broadcasting (NAICS 515120) establishments in the United States in 2021. California led the nation with 391 Television Broadcasting establishments followed by New York (300) and Florida (260). Nationwide, Television Broadcasting establishments employed 143,196 people during the pay period that included March 12, 2021. New York employed more people in the television broadcasting industry 32,830 than any other state during the March 12, 2021, pay period.
• Would you believe that popular ventriloquist Edgar Bergen was a radio star years before making his first television appearance? Bergen and his ventriloquist puppet Charlie McCarthy hosted a comedy and variety show on radio from 1936 to 1956. The duo first appeared on television in 1946 and continued to perform together until 1977 when they made their last television appearance on an episode of Jim Henson's The Muppet Show.
• The period from 1948 to 1959 is often called the "Golden Age of Television" as television's technological advances and brilliant programming encouraged millions of American households to purchase their first television set and gather around the glowing screens every evening to watch "must-see" television series. Some of the most popular programs and actors of the era included: Texaco Star Theater (1948-1956) hosted by Milton Berle; The Lone Ranger (1949-1957) starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels; I Love Lucy (1951-1957) starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz; The Honeymooners (1955-1956) starring Jackie Gleason, Audry Meadows, and Art Carney; the long-running children's program Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984) hosted by Robert "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan; family comedy Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963) starring Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, and Jerry Mathers as "the Beaver"; Rod Serling's Twilight Zone (1959-1964); and Gunsmoke—the longest-running television western (1955-1975)—starring James Arness with guest appearances from both new and established actors like Ed Asner, Charles Bronson, Bette Davis, Buddy Ebsen, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Ron Howard, Jack Klugman, Martin Landau, Leonard Nimoy, Adam West, and many more!
• Between 1950 and 1955, the number of households with at least 1 television set grew from 9 percent to 65 percent. By 1965, 93 percent of American homes had a television. The remarkable growth in television ownership was due to the debut of some of the most popular television shows that are still airing as "reruns" or carried by popular streaming content providers today, including: I Love Lucy (1951-1957) starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball; The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971); Gunsmoke (1952-1961) starring James Arness; The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968) starring Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, and Don Knotts; Bonanza (1959-1973) featuring Lorne Greene and Michael Landon; the Flintstones (1960-1966) animated series created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera; Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, and Agnes Moorehead in Bewitched (1964-1972); Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Disney (1969-1979); All in the Family starring Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton; and one of the most popular television programs in history—M*A*S*H (1972-1983)—starring Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Loretta Switt, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, and a host of other famous and soon-to-be famous Hollywood stars.
• The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) inducted Philo Farnsworth into its Hall of Fame in 2013. The ATAS established the Hall of Fame for "persons who have made outstanding contributions in the arts, sciences or management of television, based upon either cumulative contributions and achievements or a singular contribution or achievement." The Hall of Fame's first inductees in 1984 included Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, and Edward R. Murrow. Others actors, directors, screenwriters, media executives, and media personalities honored for their extraordinary contributions to American television include: legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite (1985); beloved animator Walt Disney (1986); talk show hosts and comedians Johnny Carson and Bob Hope (1987); husband and wife vaudeville, radio, television and movie stars George Burns and Gracie Allen (1988); television producer David L. Wolper (1988); groundbreaking journalist Barbara Walters (1989); composer Leonard Bernstein (1990); sportscaster Howard Cosell; daytime talk show host Oprah Winfrey (1993); and documentary film maker Ken Burns.
• After Zenith Corporation closed its Melrose Park, IL, factory in 1998, declared bankruptcy in 1999, and sold its assets to Korean company LG Electronics that same year, most major brands of televisions or their components have been manufactured overseas. Hundreds of American companies still manufacture equipment and provide support for our love of television. For example, in 2021, the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series reported that there were 483 Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing (NAICS 3343) establishments in the United States; 861 Cable and Other Subscription Programming establishments (NAICS 515210); 1,705 Consumer Electronics Repair and Maintenance (NAICS 811211) establishments; and 22,800 Electronics and Appliance Retail Establishments (NAICS 44314).

Thanks to a petition drive initiated by Utah school children, Philo T. Farnsworth was honored with a statue in the U.S. Capitol Building's National Statuary Hall on May 2, 1990.
Inscribed on the statue's base are the words, "Father of Television."

Photo courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol.

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Did you know?

The 1970 Census was the first in which the Ad Council produced radio and television public service announcements as part of the population count's promotional campaign.

The national television networks and 725 local stations received advertising kits containing film, slides, scripts, and fact sheets emphasizing the census slogan, "We can't know where we're going if we don't know where we are."

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TV Data

The U.S. Census Bureau collected data about television ownership for the first time in 1950.

Of the more than 42 million households that completed the 1950 Census of Housing questionnaire, more than 40.4 million owned a radio, 35.9 million had a kitchen sink, and 33.7 million had mechanical refrigeration. Just 5 million reported owning a television. Nearly 4.4 million households with television sets were urban whereas only 154,000 farms owned a set.

In 1960, respondents could report owning two or more sets. That year, more than 46 million of the nation's 53 million occupied housing units had at least one television. Television had grown so popular that more households owned a television than an automobile (41.6 million), telephone (41.6 million), clothes washing machine (39 million), or air conditioning (6.6 million).

In 1970, 60.6 million (95.5 percent) of the nation's 68.7 million housing units indicated they owned at least one television on their census questionnaire. By comparison, 24.2 million households had air conditioning, 26.5 million had a clothes dryer, and 59.7 million had indoor plumbing.

Censuses from 1980 and later did not ask about television ownership, but other surveys still inquired about households' technology ownership. For example, the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation finds that more households own a television (98.4 percent or more) than a landline telephone.

Data from the American Community Survey showed that in 2021, television ownership was still more common than owning a computer or smartphone.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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For the Record

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to appear on television. His pre-recorded broadcast was part of the 1939 New York World's Fair's opening ceremony sponsored by David Sarnoff's RCA Corporation and shown on televisions at the fair and televisions scattered around New York City, NY, on April 30, 1939.

On October 5, 1947, president Harry S. Truman appeared in the first broadcast from the White House in which he urged Americans to conserve food for post-World War II Europe. Truman installed the first television in the White House in 1947. His January 20, 1949, inauguration ceremony was the first to be televised nationwide.

On January 19, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower invited television cameras to record a White House press conference for the first time. He also appeared in the very first recorded color television broadcast on May 22, 1958.

On January 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy hosted the first White House press conference broadcast live on television.

Other technological firsts at the White House include installation of indoor plumbing by Andrew Jackson in 1833; the first White House telephone by Rutherford B. Hayes on May 10, 1877; and electric lights during Benjamin Harrison's administration.

Calvin Coolidge was the first president to address the nation by radio on December 6, 1923; George H.W. Bush sent the first presidential emails in 1992; William J. Clinton launched the first White House webpage in 1994; and Barack Obama began regularly using social media in 2009.

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Visit https://www.census.gov/history every month for the latest Census History Home Page!