Philo T. Farnsworth

1 Letterman Drive
The Presidio

Philo T. Farnswroth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor and television pioneer. Although he made many contributions that were crucial to the early development of all-electronic television, he is perhaps best known for inventing the first fully functional all-electronic image pickup device (video camera tube), the “image dissector”, the first fully functional and complete all-electronic television system, and for being the first person to demonstrate such a system to the public. Farnsworth developed a television system complete with receiver and camera, which he produced commercially in the firm of the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation, from 1938 to 1951. In 1999, TIME magazine included Farnsworth in “The TIME 100: The Most Important People of the Century.

This sculpture sits on the grounds of the Letterman Digital Arts Campus and is by Lawrence Noble.