[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 112 (Monday, September 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8371-S8372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INVENTION OF THE TELEVISION BY PHILO T. 
                               FARNSWORTH

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise today to honor the 
late Philo T.

[[Page S8372]]

Farnsworth and the Farnsworth family on the 75th anniversary of the 
invention of the electric television.
  It was on September 7, 1927, while working in his small, cramped 
laboratory at 202 Green Street in San Francisco, that Philo Farnsworth 
conducted the first successful experiments that form the basis for 
today's television. Upon completing the very first transmission of an 
electronic image, Farnsworth sent a telegram to his investors that 
simply said, ``The Damn Thing Works.''
  Farnsworth first conceptualized these ideas one summer day while 
tilling a potato field on his family's farm. Riding atop the horse 
driven plow, the 14 year-old Farnsworth was struck by the crisscrossed 
patterns in the field. Like the furrows in the field front of him, 
Farnsworth believed he could separate a picture into lines and 
reassemble them elsewhere.
  In 1930, Farnsworth obtained the patents for his invention, which 
employs a magnetically deflected electron beam inside a cathode ray 
tube to transmit a picture. All forms of video in use in the world 
today, including computer displays, trace their origins to Farnsworth's 
patents and this seminal event 75 years ago.
  When Farnsworth died at the age of 64 in 1971, he held more than 300 
U.S. and foreign patents. In September 1983, he was one of four 
inventors honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a stamp bearing his 
portrait. My home State of California has recognized his invention of 
the electronic television by placing a State historical marker 
memorializing the event in front of his former lab in San Francisco. In 
addition, the mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, recently issued a 
proclamation making September 7, 2002, Philo Taylor Farnsworth Day in 
that city.
  Before I conclude today, I also want to recognize the important 
contributions of Elma ``Pem'' Farnsworth, now 94 years of age and the 
only living witness to this historic 1927 event. Mrs. Farnsworth, a 
talented scientist in her own right, worked closely with her husband on 
many of his inventions. Often called ``The Mother of the Television,'' 
Mrs. Farnsworth now spends her retirement days residing in Fort Wayne, 
IN, working tirelessly to ensure that the legacy of Philo Farnsworth's 
inventions will live on.

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