What They Don't Want You to Know

Who invented television? A call for the inventor brings forth an army. So-called inventors cover the globe. The fact is that television is a compound invention. It evolved over decades. No one man could or did invent the whole contraption. Instead, many contributed to the art. The list includes Nipkow, Braun, Rosing, Jenkins, Baird, Sanabria, Mihali, Takayangi, Belin... And probably thousands more. All of these inventors deserve our admiration. They won't get it. Instead, most people like to associate an invention with one man. If he's an unforgettable character, so much the better. Enter John Logie Baird.

In the virtual world, John Logie Baird seems to garner the most claims to the "TV inventor" title. Obviously, Baird's publicity machine is robust. But public relations is hardly history. Or is it? RCA's David Sarnoff certainly rode the PR float into a lot of history books. A look back tells us that, PR or not, Sarnoff earned his credentials. Of course, Sarnoff wasn't an inventor, at least in the usual sense. Instead, he was a powerful and influential entrepreneur. His insight, passion and support brought television into homes across the world. That is, Sarnoff enabled inventors to develop and perfect products, including television. We'll leave Sarnoff's contribution at that. It's a subject for another Web page.

A new angle. For now, let's ponder Mr. Baird's contribution. And let's do that from a new angle. Begin with the urban legend that appears on many Web pages: That Baird was first to invent television, roughly in the mid-1920s. Or, better still: "Prior art be damned! Baird invented TV, lock, stock and scanning disc! Television didn't evolve. Instead, why, it was a complete hat trick. In 1924, the telly didn't exist. But by 1929, BBC was on the air with regular telecasts."

(Read the actual quote from another site.)

Sorry, but that's a statement of pride, not fact. In the light of history, the pride might even be justifiable. Yet the statement is ridiculous. It's about the same as insisting that Louis Sullivan invented architecture. Or that Dietrich Buxtehude invented music. Sure, we detect an element of truth. But we end up with the pride of P. T. Barnum. Exaggeration, that is.