Portrait of Philo Farnsworth

Birthday profile

Philo Farnsworth

Philo Farnsworth, American inventor, invented the Fusor, key figure in the invention of television (died 1971)

Born
August 19, 1906
Died
March 11, 1971
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1906

About Philo Farnsworth

Philo Taylor Farnsworth was an American inventor who was granted the first patent for the television by the United States Government. He also invented a video camera tube and the image dissector. He commercially produced and sold a fully functioning television system—complete with receiver and camera—which he produced commercially through the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation from 1938 to 1951, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor who was granted the first patent for the television by the United States Government. In later life, Farnsworth invented a small nuclear fusion device, the Farnsworth Fusor, employing inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC). He developed an early interest in electronics after his first telephone conversation with a distant relative, and he discovered a large cache of technology magazines in the attic of their new home.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Philo Farnsworth timeline

  1. Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor who was granted the first patent for the television by the United States Government.
  2. He commercially produced and sold a fully functioning television system—complete with receiver and camera—which he produced commercially through the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation from 1938 to 1951, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The world when Philo Farnsworth was born

Philo Farnsworth was born in 1906. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1906

  • Best-selling bookThe Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports moment"Hitless Wonders" Chicago White Sox upset Cubs in World Series
  • Top headlineSan Francisco earthquake and fire — 3,000+ killed
  • Technology milestoneFirst radio broadcast of voice and music
  • World population~1.66B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderTheodore Roosevelt
  • U.S. population84.6M

1906 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Philo Farnsworth's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19062026
Population84.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.