Television History - The First 75 Years
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EARLY TELEVISION EXPERIMENTS  --  CHARLES FRANCIS JENKINS (1867-1934)

C. Francis Jenkins -USA- (20K bytes)

 

One of America's first pioneers of television and contemporary of John Logie Baird of Scotland.  Holder of over 400 patents -- 75 pertaining to mechanical television alone.  Began with an interest in motion picture films and radio facsimile, which eventually lead to his invention called the 'Radiovisor'.

 

 

Important Events:

  •    June 14, 1923:  Transmitted the earliest moving silhouette images
     

  •    December, 1924: Clear images of the signature of Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, were sent from Washington to Boston, 450 miles
     

  •    June 13, 1925:  First public wireless transmission of television images from Anacosta, Virginia to Washington, D.C.
     

  •    July 2, 1928:  Established station W3XK, in Washington D.C. for the purpose of transmitting "Radiomovies", five nights per week, into the early 1930s.

Motion Pictures by Ether Waves - August 1925 "Popular Radio" Article
(Courtesy John Hauser)

August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 107a (80K bytes) (80K)  >  August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 107b (124K bytes) (124K) >    August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 108a (100K bytes) (100K) >   August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 108b (128K bytes) (128K) 

August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 109a (120K bytes) (120K) >   August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 109b (136K bytes) (136K) >   August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 110a (110K bytes) (110K) >   August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 110b (116K bytes) (116K)

August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 111a (136K bytes) (136K) >   August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 111b (96K bytes) (96K) >   August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 112a (120K bytes) (120K) >   August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 112b (140K bytes) (140K)

August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 113a (156K bytes) (156K) >   August 1925 - Popular Radio - Pg 113b (144K bytes) (144K)

Slides used by Baird Laboratories to illustrate Jenkins' "Radiovisor"

Jenkins "Radiovisor" -USA- (40K bytes) (40K) - Jenkins "Radiovisor" with radio receiver

Photo by Radiovisor -USA- (40K bytes) (40K) - Photograph sent by "Radiovisor"

Boy Bouncing Ball - Radiovisor -USA- (16K bytes) (16K) - Boy Bouncing Ball - Image sent by "Radiovisor"

Girl sent by "Radiovisor" -USA- (28K bytes) (28K) - Girl image sent by "Radiovisor"

Jenkins Radiovisor w/Quartz Rods -USA- (40K bytes) (40K) - "Radiovisor" assembly showing quartz rods

Jenkins 6-spot Lamp -USA- (24K bytes) (24K) - Jenkins "6-spot lamp"

OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

W3XK -- America's first television station   

Charles Francis Jenkins - Biographies   

Articles about Early American Television Broadcasts  

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