Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Philo Farnsworth (1906)close

Born in Indian Creek, Utah, Philo was fascinated with the study of electricity. Although he attended a small school, he worked closely with his chemistry teacher, and by the time he was 15 years old, he had developed a theory of electronic transmission of pictures. Six years later, he patented and produced the first working, all-electronic television system. His later work contributed to the development of the radar, electron microscopes, incubators for newborns, and guidance systems for aircraft. However, Farnsworth's son once reported that his father said this about television: "There's nothing on it worthwhile, and we're not going to watch it in this household, and I don't want it in your intellectual diet!"

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Looking for a famous American?

This page presents short biographies of more than 200 famous Americans drawn from our unit, "The 50 States." These personalities are arranged by theme.

Just click a theme at the top of the page to view a selection list for that theme.