September 3, 1928

Philo Farnsworth

Philo Farnsworth unveils electronic television to San Francisco reporters

Reporters peered at a bluish picture about an inch and a half square and watched it blur; the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the underlying principle had been achieved.

202 Green Street, September 1928

In September 1928 the 22-year-old Philo T. Farnsworth showed reporters an electronic television system at his laboratory at 202 Green Street in San Francisco.

The system used his image-dissector camera tube for electronic pickup and a cathode-ray "oscillite" tube for display, avoiding the rotating scanning discs of contemporary mechanical systems.

His backers, led by W. W. Crocker and Roy N. Bishop, had sought publicity and refinancing after a successful private investor demonstration in May.

What the Chronicle printed

The San Francisco Chronicle's front-page report described a rate of 20 pictures per second, an image composed of 8,000 points of light and a screen about 1.5 inches square.

Reporters saw a small, bluish moving image that could blur or smudge; the Chronicle nevertheless reported that the underlying principle had been achieved.

The famous dollar-sign image belonged to the private May demonstration for investors, not to this press showing.

Two things the date and the word "first" hide

Later histories and the US Census Bureau date the press demonstration to 3 September 1928, but the Chronicle article of that date says the advances were announced "yesterday," and some chronologies give 1 or 2 September. September 3 may be the publication date rather than the viewing date.

"First" needs qualification too: Farnsworth's claim concerns an operational system with electronic scanning at both pickup and display, while mechanical television demonstrations by Baird, Bell Labs and others came earlier.

The 1928 apparatus still had a mechanical motor-generator in its synchronisation system; Albert Abramson dates the fully electronic pulse generator that eliminated it to July 1929.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes Date disputed

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

Date disputed. Sources disagree; the research places it at ~1928-09-03.

What the sources leave uncertain

Later histories and the U.S. Census Bureau date the press demonstration to September 3, 1928. The September 3 San Francisco Chronicle article, however, says the advances were announced “yesterday,” and some chronologies give September 1 or 2. September 3 may be the securely documented publication date rather than the exact laboratory viewing date.
“First” requires qualification. Farnsworth's claim concerns an operational system with electronic scanning at both pickup and display; mechanical television demonstrations by Baird, Bell Labs and others came earlier.
The 1928 apparatus used electronic scanning, but a mechanical motor-generator remained in its synchronization system. Albert Abramson dates the completely electronic pulse generator, eliminating that last mechanical component, to July 1929.