140 Years of Television Technology

Presented by: John Leysath, Curatorial Director at Hammond Castle Museum

Television is one of the most ubiquitous technologies in human history, so much so that we tend to take it for granted. However, the story of TV is a winding tale of decades of painstaking research, false starts, technological dead ends and breakthroughs, commercial failures and successes, aspirational ideals, and human drama. The full picture of TV is composed of a mosaic of individual scientists, engineers, and industrialists who helped to bring it to life, including our founder, John Hays Hammond Jr., whose contributions to the medium are often overlooked. “Who invented television?” is not a simple question. Through this presentation, the complex evolution of television will be traced, the pioneers who forged its path will be given their due, and in particular, the significance of Hammond’s work will be revealed.