Uploaded March 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Philo T. Farnsworth was a Mormon farmer who lived in Utah, not exactly the place for technology. In 1922, a young Farnsworth filled several blackboards in his chemistry class with sketches and diagrams showing his high school science teacher his idea for an electronic television system. David Sarnoff offered to buy Farnsworth's patents in 1931, with the condition that Farnsworth becomes an employee of RCA. Farnsworth refused Sarnoff's offer, and spend much of the next several years fighting David Sarnoff and RCA in the courtroom over television patents.
Philo T. Farnsworth was a Mormon farmer who lived in Utah, not exactly the place for technology. In 1922, a young Farnsworth filled several blackboards in his chemistry class with sketches and diagrams showing his high school science teacher his idea for an electronic television system. David Sarnoff offered to buy Farnsworth's patents in 1931, with the condition that Farnsworth becomes an employee of RCA. Farnsworth refused Sarnoff's offer, and spend much of the next several years fighting David Sarnoff and RCA in the courtroom over television patents.
