Who's Philo T. Farnsworth?

Why isn’t Philo T. Farnsworth among the iconic pictures of modern history in your head?

He's the father of electronic television. He had the idea for how to make television work in his head at the age of 14 and created a working prototype at the age of 21. This American genius should be burned into our collective memory. But Farnsworth's place in history has been skewed by corporate America. He should be easily cited by any high school student with such icons as Benjamin F. Franklin, Alexander G. Bell, Guglielmo M. Marconi or Thomas A. Edison.

Farnsworth's story is tragic. The truth about the birth of television challenges the myth of the American Dream. It's a David and Goliath tale where Goliath wins. I offer some links here for those of you wanting to know more about Farnsworth as a companion to the documentary we watched in class-- Big Dream, Small Screen.


New Line Cinema (A Time Warner Company) has acquired the rights to The Farnsworth Invention-- a script drafted by The West Wing's Emmy-winning producer Aaron Sorkin. Word in Hollywood is The West Wing's Tommy Schlamme was to direct it.

The irony here is Sorkin and Schlamme's history is with NBC-- the broadcast network created by Farnsworth's nemisis, David Sarnoff. While there's speculation about the film production, the script has been adapted for the stage.


One final note here...Pem Farnsworth died last year at the age of 98. Her and Philo's narrative clearly includes a love story worth considering as well.

Time's 100: The Most Important People of the 20th Century
Farnovision
The Farnsworth Archives
The Farnsworth Chronicles
Farnsworth's Story
The American Experience: Big Dream, Small Screen
Big Dream, Small Screen Transcript
The Boy Who Invented Television
Wired's Televisionary
Pem Farnsworth's Obituary
MIT's Inventor Profile