Monday Open Line


Two trailblazers in early electronics, whose inventions changed pastimes the world over, were born in August. One was television pioneer Philo Farnsworth, born 110 years ago. He conceived the idea of television broadcasting while still in high school and realized it at the age of 21. The other was Lee de Forest, born in late August, 1873. The Yale doctor of physics invented the three-element vacuum tube, a step toward creating radio. Holding hundreds of patents, he was an innovator in not only radio and television, but also film, as he synchronized sound to motion pictures. Over 217,000 Americans work in the thousands of radio and TV broadcasting establishments advanced by Farnsworth and de Forest. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.