Today, in the U.S., around 97% of households have a TV. Whether people are watching cable TV or streaming services, for many U.S. families, a television is a necessity. TV is a part of our everyday lives and one of the leading media formats in the country.
However, TV quickly became quite popular and a household staple in the 1950s. But, it was not always around and many things led up to the television’s success. So when was the first TV invented? Read more to find out.
The Years Before
Through the 1700s and 1800s, one of the most crucial steps towards television was electricity. Without electricity and its many advancements, there would be no television. However, it was in 1884 that the biggest step yet towards television was taken. Paul Nipkow sent images over wires with a rotating metal disk technology calling it the electric telescope with 18 lines of resolution.
It was then at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, the first International Congress of Electricity was held, along with the first use of the word “television.”
It was then after 1900 that discussions surrounding the physical development of the television. Two major paths were taken in the development of the TV:
- Inventors attempted to build mechanical television systems based on Pail Nipkow’s rotating disks.
- Inventors attempted to build electronic television systems based on the cathode ray tube developed independently in 1907 by the English inventor A.A. Campbell-Swinton and Russian scientist Boris Rosing.
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The Early Years of Television
So now that we know some of the background information behind the invention of the TV, when was the first tv invented?
It was 1927 when Scottish engineer John Baird provided the world with the first demonstration of what we know of as television. With his new invention, Baird formed the Baird Television Development Company, and in 1928, it achieved the first transatlantic television transmission between London and New York.
Meanwhile, the electronic television was first successfully demonstrated in San Francisco in 1927 as well. It was designed by Philo Taylor Farnsworth, who had been working on the invention since 1920. Electronic television used electronic signals to produce images on the screen, transmitting images and sounds by the means of radio waves, microwaves, or infrared rays.
The Rise of the TV
During the 1930s, the U.S. had 18 experimental stations running. It was then during the 1939 World’s Fair that David Sarnood, president of the RCA, unveiled the first commercial publicly accessible television broadcast.
In 1941 the FCC released the NTSC standard for black and white TV.
It was then in 1946 when Peter Goldmark of CBS demonstrated his color television system to the FCC. The system produced color pictures by having a red, blue, and green wheel spin in front of a cathode ray tube.
Television began to replace the radio as the dominant broadcasting medium in the 1950s. In 1946, around 8,000 U.S. households had a television set. Then, by 1960, 45.7 million people had them.
Though Goldmark’s system was ultimately replaced by the electronic system from Farnsworth, Goldmark is still considered the first to introduce the broadcasting television system.
TV’s popularity continued to grow through the 1960s and by 1967, most television broadcasts were in color. In 1969, 600 million people tuned in to watch the first TV transmission made from the moon. Then by 1972, half the TVs in homes across the country were color sets.
Though television has continued to advance, this is what we know as modern day television.
Read More: 8 Odd Historical Inventions That Didn’t Make It
Conclusion
Television as we know it today is a staple of the American household and our culture. TVs are one of the most popular broadcasting mediums in the country. From its beginning days and being viewed as a novelty item, television has continued to grow into one of the most important mediums of communication.
Through this, we have also seen the rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. TV has continued to grow and advance and society continues to adapt with it. We can not say where its future is going, but we can learn from its past and all that comes with it.
