Who Invented TV?
Many countries lay claim to inventing television. Without a doubt, engineers in several countries developed various early approaches to transmitting pictures. Early approaches were based on mechanical devices using a kind of moving peephole that focused light reflected from a scene on a photocell. Although these devices worked, they were big, heavy, cumbersome, and of low resolution (producing limited detail). One of the first TV images of this type is the famous Felix the cat image shown here. Even with the obvious limitations, some TV transmitters went on the air using mechanical approaches. The first all-electronic TV programming was launched by the BBC from Alexandra Palace in London in 1936. Unlike the mechanical systems, this approach was the direct precursor to today’s all-electronic approach to transmitting TV pictures. The BBC system was developed by Marconi, the father of radio. (Interestingly, Marconi’s work, specifically the effect that aircraft had on the transmissions, le
