| Year |
Event |
| 1873 |
Willoughby Smith discovered the photoconductivity of the element selenium. This led to the invention of the photoelectric cell. |
| 1877 |
George R. Carey of Boston, Massachusetts creates a selenium telectroscope—a camera that could project a moving image to a distant point. The telectroscope was the first television prototype. |
| 1880 |
Proposals to transmit images by rapidly scanning them in succession are independently made by William E. Sawyer of the United States and Maurice Leblanc of France. |
| 1884 |
Paul Nipkow invents the Nipkow disk, a means of mechanically scanning an image. This method was later used in mechanical television experiments. |
| 1895 |
Noah S. Amstutz demonstrates the transmission of photographic halftone images by electric telegraphy.1 |
| 1897 |
Karl Ferdinand Braun invents the cathode ray tube, using it as an oscilloscope. |
| 1900 |
The word "television" is coined by Constantin Perskyi on August 18 at the First International Electricity Congress in Paris, France. |
| 1907 |
Boris Rosing transmits silhouette images of geometric shapes, using a Nipkow disc, mirror-drum, and a cathode-ray tube receiver. |
| 1908 |
In his letter to Nature, Alan Campbell-Swinton describes the modern electronic camera and display system which others are to develop throughout the 1920s. |
| 1921 |
Charles Francis Jenkins with a group of friends incorporates Jenkins Laboratories in Washington, D.C. with the purpose of "developing radio movies to be broadcast for entertainment in the home". |
| 1922 |
Charles Jenkins' first public demonstration of television principles. A set of static photographic pictures was transmitted from Washington, D.C. to the Navy station NOF in Anacostia by telephone wire, and then wirelessly back to Washington. |
| 1922 |
Philo Farnsworth first describes an image dissector tube, which uses cesium to produce images electronically, but will not produce a working model until 1927. |
| 1923 |
Charles Jenkins' first demonstration of "true" television with moving images. This time 48-line moving silhouette images are transmitted at 16 frames per second from Washington to Anacostia Navy station. |
| 1923 |
Vladimir Zworykin applies for patent for an all-electronic television system, the first ancestor of the electric scanning television camera. The patent was not granted until 1938 after significant revisions and patent interference actions. |
| 1924 |
John Logie Baird demonstrated a semi-mechanical television system with the transmission of moving silhouette images. |
| 1924 |
Vladimir Zworykin files a patent application for the kinescope, a television picture receiver tube. |
| Date |
Name |
Occupation/Accolades |
| August 22, 1867 |
Charles Francis Jenkins |
U.S. inventor and promoter of mechanical scanning television (d. 1934). |
| April 23, 1869 |
Boris Rosing |
Russian pioneer of television technology (d. 1933). |
| November 22, 1875 |
Elizabeth Patterson |
U.S. actress (I Love Lucy) (d. 1966). |
| July 21, 1882 |
Dr. Herbert Ives |
U.S. television researcher, leader of the AT&T television research during the 1920s–1930s (d. 1953). |
| February 8, 1884 |
Burt Mustin |
U.S. actor (All in the Family) (d. 1977). |
| January 16, 1886 |
John Hamilton |
U.S. actor (Adventures of Superman) (d. 1958). |
| February 26, 1887 |
William Frawley |
U.S. actor (I Love Lucy) (d. 1966). |
| August 14, 1888 |
John Logie Baird |
British pioneer of television technology (d. 1946). |
| July 20, 1889 |
John Reith, 1st Baron Reith |
First Director-General of the BBC (d. 1971). |
| July 30, 1889 |
Vladimir Zworykin |
U.S. pioneer of television technology (d. 1982). |
| February 11, 1894 |
Jack Benny |
U.S. actor (The Jack Benny Program) (d. 1974). |
| August 21, 1895 |
Blossom Rock |
U.S. actress (The Addams Family) (d. 1978). |
| October 4, 1900 |
Robert Shayne |
U.S. actor (Adventures of Superman) (d 1992). |
| December 6, 1900 |
Agnes Moorehead |
U.S. actress (Bewitched) (d 1974). |
| March 27, 1901 |
Carl Barks |
U.S. animator (creator of Scrooge McDuck) (d. 2000). |
| July 1, 1901 |
Irna Phillips |
U.S. writer (creator of early soap operas) (d. 1973). |
| July 14, 1901 |
George Tobias |
U.S. actor (Bewitched) (d. 1980). |
| October 17, 1902 |
Irene Ryan |
U.S. actress (The Beverly Hillbillies) (d. 1973). |
| December 25, 1902 |
Barton MacLane |
U.S. actor (I Dream of Jeannie) (d. 1969). |
| May 29, 1903 |
Bob Hope |
British-American film, television, radio, and vaudeville actor, writer, and producer (Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre) (d. 2003). |
| June 17, 1904 |
Ralph Bellamy |
U.S. stage, film, and television actor (Man Against Crime) (d. 1991). |
| January 26, 1905 |
Charles Lane |
U.S. actor (Petticoat Junction). (d. 2007) |
| September 18, 1905 |
Eddie Anderson |
U.S. actor (The Jack Benny Program) (d. 1977). |
| February 20, 1906 |
Gale Gordon |
U.S. actor (The Lucy Show) (d. 1995). |
| April 4, 1906 |
Bea Benaderet |
U.S. actress (The Flintstones) (d. 1968). |
| April 4, 1906 |
John Cameron Swayze |
U.S. anchorman (Camel News Caravan) (d. 1995). |
| August 19, 1906 |
Philo Farnsworth |
U.S. inventor credited with the invention of the cathode ray tube television (d. 1971). |
| February 12, 1907 |
Joseph Kearns |
U.S. actor (Dennis the Menace) (d. 1962). |
| May 22, 1907 |
Cecil McGivern |
British broadcasting executive; controller of BBC Television from 1950 to 1957 (d. 1963). |
| January 8, 1908 |
William Hartnell |
British actor; the original star of Doctor Who in the 1960s (d. 1975). |
| February 28, 1908 |
Billie Bird |
U.S. radio, film, television, and vaudeville actress (Dear John) (d. 2002). |
| April 2, 1908 |
Buddy Ebsen |
U.S. actor (The Beverly Hillbillies) (d. 2003). |
| April 30, 1908 |
Eve Arden |
U.S. actress (Our Miss Brooks) (d. 1990). |
| July 12, 1908 |
Milton Berle |
U.S. actor (Texaco Star Theater) (d. 2002). |
| December 14, 1908 |
Morey Amsterdam |
U.S. actor (The Dick Van Dyke Show). (d. 1996) |
| July 26, 1909 |
Vivian Vance |
U.S. actress (I Love Lucy) (d. 1979). |
| May 15, 1910 |
Michael Barry |
British television producer and executive; Head of Drama at BBC television from 1952 to 1962 (d. 1988). |
| May 22, 1910 |
Johnny Olson |
U.S. radio and television announcer (The New Price Is Right) (d. 1985). |
| October 23, 1910 |
Hayden Rorke |
U.S. actor (I Dream of Jeannie) (d. 1987). |
| February 6, 1911 |
Ronald Reagan |
U.S. actor and president (General Electric Theater) (d. 2004). |
| March 13, 1911 |
Marie Rudisill |
U.S. television personality (The Fruitcake Lady from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno). |
| July 7, 1911 |
Gretchen Franklin |
British actress (EastEnders) (d. 2005). |
| August 6, 1911 |
Lucille Ball |
U.S. actress (I Love Lucy) (d. 1989). |
| December 10, 1911 |
Chet Huntley |
U.S. anchorman (The Huntley-Brinkley Report) (d. 1974). |
| January 7, 1912 |
Charles Addams |
U.S. cartoonist (created The Addams Family) (d. 1988). |
| February 25, 1913 |
Jim Backus |
U.S. actor (Gilligan's Island, Mr. Magoo) (d. 1989). |
| May 13, 1913 |
Jasmine Bligh |
British presenter; one of the very first BBC Television Service presenters of the 1930s (d. 1991). |
| May 25, 1913 |
Richard Dimbleby |
British journalist (BBC), commentator on state events, and presenter of current affairs programmes such as Panorama (d. 1965). |
| July 13, 1913 |
Dave Garroway |
U.S. journalist (The Today Show (d. 1982). |
| January 4, 1914 |
George Reeves |
U.S. actor (Adventures of Superman) (d. 1959). |
| May 12, 1914 |
Howard K. Smith |
U.S. anchorman (ABC Evening News) (d. 2002). |
| October 26, 1914 |
Jackie Coogan |
U.S. actor (The Addams Family) (d. 1984). |
| December 2, 1914 |
Ray Walston |
U.S. actor (My Favorite Martian, Fast Times) (d. 2001). |
| January 31, 1915 |
Garry Moore |
U.S. game show host and TV personality (I've Got a Secret). (d. 1993) |
| February 12, 1915 |
Lorne Greene |
U.S. actor (Bonanza). (d. 1987) |
| April 10, 1915 |
Harry Morgan |
U.S. actor (Dragnet, M*A*S*H). |
| September 12, 1915 |
Frank McGee |
U.S. journalist (The Today Show) (d. 1974). |
| Date |
Name |
Occupation/Accolades |
| February 14, 1916 |
Edward Platt |
U.S. actor (Get Smart) (d. 1974). |
| March 31, 1916 |
Lucille Bliss |
U.S. actress (The Smurfs, Invader ZIM). |
| April 4, 1916 |
David White |
U.S. actor (Bewitched) (d. 1990). |
| July 11, 1916 |
Reg Varney |
U.K Comedy Actor (The Rag Trade, On the Buses) |
| July 23, 1916 |
Sandra Gould |
U.S. actress (Bewitched) (d. 1999). |
| November 4, 1916 |
Walter Cronkite |
U.S. anchorman (CBS Evening News). |
| March 2, 1917 |
Desi Arnaz |
Cuban-born actor (I Love Lucy) (d. 1986). |
| March 30, 1917 |
Herbert Anderson |
U.S. actor (Dennis the Menace) (d. 1994). |
| May 16, 1917 |
George Gaynes |
Finnish-born U.S. actor (Punky Brewster, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd). |
| May 21, 1917 |
Raymond Burr |
Canadian actor (Perry Mason, Ironside). (d. 1993) |
| July 14, 1917 |
Douglas Edwards |
U.S. anchorman (CBS Evening News) (d. 1990). |
| September 4, 1917 |
Hilary Mason |
British actress (Maid Marian and her Merry Men). (d. 2006) |
| October 16, 1917 |
Alice Pearce |
U.S. actress (Bewitched). (d. 1966) |
| October 28, 1917 |
Jack Soo |
Japanese-American actor (Barney Miller) (d. 1979). |
| December 22, 1917 |
Gene Rayburn |
U.S. television personality (Match Game, The Tonight Show). (d. 1999) |
| February 15, 1918 |
Allan Arbus |
U.S. actor (M*A*S*H). |
| February 22, 1918 |
Don Pardo |
U.S. television announcer (Saturday Night Live). |
| May 1, 1918 |
Jack Paar |
U.S. television personality (The Tonight Show). (d. 2004) |
| May 9, 1918 |
Mike Wallace |
U.S. anchorman (60 Minutes). |
| November 4, 1918 |
Art Carney |
U.S. actor (The Honeymooners). (d. 2003) |
| January 13, 1919 |
Robert Stack |
U.S. actor (The Untouchables, Unsolved Mysteries). (d. 2003) |
| February 11, 1919 |
Eva Gabor |
Hungarian actress (Green Acres). (d. 1995) |
| May 4, 1919 |
John Hope |
U.S. meteorologist (The Weather Channel), named Hurricane Camille for his daughter (d. 2002). |
| October 14, 1919 |
Shaun Sutton |
British writer, director, and producer; longest-serving Head of Drama at BBC Television (d. 2004). |
| November 19, 1919 |
Alan Young |
British-born U.S. actor (Mister Ed). |
| February 18, 1920 |
Bill Cullen |
U.S. game show host (The Price Is Right, Blockbusters) (d. 1990). |
| February 26, 1920 |
Tony Randall |
U.S. actor (The Odd Couple) (d. 2004). |
| July 10, 1920 |
David Brinkley |
U.S. anchorman (The Huntley-Brinkley Report) (d. 2003). |
| July 18, 1920 |
Dolph Sweet |
U.S. actor (Gimme a Break!, Another World) (d. 1985). |
| November 25, 1920 |
Noel Neill |
U.S. actress (Adventures of Superman). |
| January 15, 1921 |
Frank Thornton |
British actor (Are You Being Served?). |
| February 24, 1921 |
Abe Vigoda |
U.S. actor (Barney Miller). |
| May 14, 1921 |
Richard Deacon |
U.S. actor (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It to Beaver). (d. 1984) |
| August 8, 1921 |
William Asher |
U.S. producer, director, and writer (Bewitched). |
| October 17, 1921 |
Tom Poston |
U.S. actor (Newhart) (d. 2007). |
| November 22, 1921 |
Rodney Dangerfield |
U.S. comedian and actor (The Dean Martin Show). (d. 2004) |
| December 26, 1921 |
Steve Allen |
U.S. television personality (The Tonight Show). (d. 2000) |
| January 17, 1922 |
Betty White |
U.S. actress (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls) |
| January 21, 1922 |
Telly Savalas |
U.S. actor (Kojak) (d. 1994) |
| January 30, 1922 |
Dick Martin |
U.S. comedian (Laugh-In) (d. 2008) |
| February 18, 1922 |
Allan Melvin |
U.S. actor (Magilla Gorilla, The Brady Bunch, All in the Family) (d. 2008) |
| March 5, 1922 |
James Noble |
U.S. actor (Benson) |
| March 20, 1922 |
Carl Reiner |
U.S. actor, writer, director, and producer (Your Show of Shows, The Dick Van Dyke Show). |
| April 5, 1922 |
Christopher Hewett |
British actor (Mr. Belvedere) (d. 2001) |
| April 5, 1922 |
Gale Storm |
U.S. actress (My Little Margie) |
| April 27, 1922 |
Jack Klugman |
U.S. actor (The Odd Couple, Quincy) |
| May 7, 1922 |
Darren McGavin |
U.S. actor (Kolchak: The Night Stalker) (d. 2006) |
| May 10, 1922 |
Nancy Walker |
U.S. actress (Rhoda, Bounty paper towel commercials) (d. 1992) |
| May 18, 1922 |
Bill Macy |
U.S. actor (Maude). |
| May 22, 1922 |
Quinn Martin |
U.S. producer (The Fugitive, The F.B.I., The Streets of San Francisco) (d. 1987) |
| July 21, 1922 |
Mollie Sugden |
British actress (Are You Being Served?). |
| July 22, 1922 |
Dan Rowan |
U.S. comedian (Laugh-In) (d. 1987) |
| July 27, 1922 |
Norman Lear |
U.S. producer (All in the Family, Sanford and Son and many others) |
| September 1, 1922 |
Yvonne De Carlo |
U.S. actress (The Munsters) (d. 2007) |
| October 9, 1922 |
Fyvush Finkel |
U.S. stage and television actor (Boston Public). |
| October 31, 1922 |
Barbara Bel Geddes |
U.S. actress (Dallas) (d. 2005) |
| December 9, 1922 |
Redd Foxx |
U.S. comedian (Sanford and Son) (d. 1991) |
| December 20, 1922 |
Charita Bauer |
U.S. actress (The Guiding Light) (d. 1985) |
| January 8, 1923 |
Larry Storch |
U.S. actor (F-Troop) |
| January 19, 1923 |
Jean Stapleton |
U.S. actress (All in the Family). |
| January 23, 1923 |
Florence Halop |
U.S. actress (St. Elsewhere, Night Court) (d. 1986) |
| February 4, 1923 |
Conrad Bain |
Canadian-born U.S. actor (Maude, Diff'rent Strokes) |
| April 13, 1923 |
Don Adams |
U.S. actor (Get Smart, Inspector Gadget) (d. 2005). |
| April 22, 1923 |
Aaron Spelling |
U.S. film and television producer (Beverly Hills 90210) (d. 2006). |
| April 30, 1923 |
Al Lewis |
U.S. actor (The Munsters) (d. 2006). |
| May 13, 1923 |
Beatrice Arthur |
U.S. actress (Maude, The Golden Girls) |
| July 25, 1923 |
Estelle Getty |
U.S. actress (The Golden Girls) (d. 2008) |
| August 15, 1923 |
Rose Marie |
U.S. actress (The Dick Van Dyke Show). |
| December 12, 1923 |
Bob Barker |
U.S. game show host (The New Price Is Right). |
| January 19, 1924 |
Nicholas Colasanto |
U.S. actor and director (Cheers). (d. 1985) |
| March 3, 1924 |
John Woodnutt |
British actor (d. 2006). |
| May 1, 1924 |
Art Fleming |
U.S. stage, radio, and television personality (Jeopardy!) (d. 1995). |
| June 26, 1924 |
Richard Bull |
U.S. film and television actor (Little House on the Prairie). |
| July 11, 1924 |
Brett Somers |
U.S. actress and comedienne (The Odd Couple, Match Game '73) (d. 2007). |
| August 2, 1924 |
Carroll O'Connor |
U.S. actor (All in the Family, In the Heat of the Night). (d. 2001) |
| November 18, 1924 |
Les Lye |
Canadian actor (You Can't Do That On Television) |
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