The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television

by Evan I. Schwartz

In a story that is both of its time and timeless, Evan I. Schwartz tells a tale of genius and greed, innocence and deceit, and corporate arrogance versus independent brilliance. In other words, the very qualities that have made this country -- for better or for worse -- what it is. Many men have laid claim to the title "The Father of Television" but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Farnsworth may have ended up a footnote in history, yet he was the first to demonstrate an electronic process for scanning, transmitting and receiving moving images, a discovery that changed the way we live.Growing up on a small farm in Idaho, Farnsworth was fascinated by anything scientific, especially the newest thing on the market -- radio. Wouldn't it be even more miraculous to project images along with the sound? Driven by his obsession, Farnsworth found a local philanthropist willing to fund his dream. By the age of twenty, in 1926, Farnsworth was operating his own laboratory above a garage in San Francisco and filing his first patent applications. The resulting publicity brought him to the attention of David Sarnoff, the celebrated founder of the NBC radio network, whose own RCA laboratories soon began investigating -- without much success -- a way to transmit a moving image. Determined to control television the way he monopolized radio -- by owning all the royalty producing patents--Sarnoff, from the lofty heights of his office in a New York skyscraper, devised a plan to steal credit for Farnsworth's designs.Vividly written, and based on original research, including interviews with surviving members of the Farnsworth family The Last Lone Inventor is the story of the epic struggle between two equally passionate adversaries and how their clash symbolized a turning point in the culture of creativity.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Science, Audiobook, Engineering, Technology

Paperback

First published May 7, 2002

About the author

Evan I. Schwartz writes about history, innovation, tech, music, and media.

He is the author of The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television (HarperCollins), named by Amazon Books as one of “100 Biographies & Memoirs to Read in a Lifetime.”

His book Finding Oz: How L. Frank Baum Discovered the Great American Story (Houghton Mifflin) is a narrative about the origins of a cultural icon, The Wizard of Oz.

His first book, Webonomics, was the #24 bestselling book on Amazon.com for the year 1997 (when only geeks bought stuff on the Internet), and his second book, Digital Darwinism, was a New York Times bestseller. Both are published by Broadway/Random House.

His 2021 book, REVOLVER: a novel, was issued as a free paperback, direct by mail, from the Concord Free Press, a 501c3 that promotes generosity through reading.

Schwartz has taught writing at Boston University and Tufts University.

Reviews

[ALLEN · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're like me, you'll put this book down amazed and invigorated at the scope of American technical innovation in the mid-Twentieth Century but a little disgusted at what RCA (parent of NBC) did to take Philo Farnsworth's birthright away from him. The little hick farmer's son from Utah made the cathode-ray tube capable of receiving televised images, and built a better picture tube than the one designed by the Russian inventor whom "General" Sarnoff of RCA imported. Drags a bit in the middle, but technical issues are dealt with clearly and well. RCA does not come across as necessarily evil, but it played the Goliath, very used to getting its way, against Farnsworth's little David.

If nothing else THE LAST LONE INVENTOR helps secure Farnsworth's central position in the development of all-electronic TV, the NTSC standard that reigned in this country from 1941 until the last decade. I know of no book quite like this. Highly recommended.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in college when I learned that a fellow Idahoan Philo T. Farnsworth had invented television. By that time, virtually all patents of technical progress seem done by large electronics companies and one had the sense that Thomas Edison was the last independent inventor of any significant contribution. It was what David Sarnoff and RCA wanted you to believe. This book uncovers that lie in a fascinating story of the battle between independent Farnsworth and mogul David Sarnoff. Pitting brilliance against ego, vison against vision, sense of personal worth against megalomania, one treads the treacherous path Farnsworth trod.

Wiser than Nikola Tesla, Farnsworth understood the critical role of properly owned patents and the costs of failing to fully secure them. He also was unprepared for the full arrogance of Sarnoff who, in spite of Farnsworth's undeniable supremacy, claimed publicly Sarnoff was the inventor of television. Even a court decision granting the rights to Farnsworth did not in anyway stymie Sarnoff's claim. Sarnoff had corporate wealth and access to press his claim to a public, a level of access that Farnsworth could never hope to counter.

But geeks are funny people. We love stories of underdogs, seek them out and elevate them to virtual godhood. Joining the ranks of young Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, Tesla has become master and Farnsworth follows close. And Sarnoff today? -- seen only as a faker and a liar who used his massive wealth to hide and hinder. RCA, the electronic giant, visionary and developer of the future is a "was". Farnsworth remains "is".

[Christopher Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute amazing dramatic tale of the battle for the credit of inventing television - a classic tale of the little guy (Philo T. Farnsworth) who actually invented television, and David Sarnoff, head of RCA, who wanted the credit all for himself.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing story. I was in awe of the genius of Farnsworth & saddened by his struggles. I also felt frustration & anger at Sarnoff for his dishonest & ruthless business tactics. It definitely felt like a David vs. Goliath tale & I wanted to much for the underdog to come out on top.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a bit longer than it had to be, but still a fascinating story. I was impressed by Farnsworth's long commitment to developing television, after having the basic idea for an all-electronic device when just 14. Turning this into a commercial product was technically difficult, and also faced challenges from World War 2, from setting consumer standards, from expiring patents, ... His conflict with the entrenched radio patent monopoly RCA gave the story more plot and drama, and perhaps can impart some morals. Schwartz did good research on Farnsworth's life, including interviewing his 92 year-old widow.

> Farnsworth had hired the most gifted electrical engineers he could find. One of them, Archie "Arch" Brolly, had a degree from MIT, while another, Russell Varian, was a Stanford graduate who later developed an indispensable radar tube that helped win the Second World War. After the war, Varian became a famous pioneer of a new industrial zone called Silicon Valley.

> A young Berkeley scientist named Ernest Lawrence paid several visits. Lawrence was most fascinated with a device Farnsworth invented to boost the strength of his transmission signal. It was an electron multiplier, and it worked by bouncing electron beams inside a metal chamber, which dislodged more electrons from the metal plates, creating a feedback loop

> David Sarnoff yielded the podium to the leader of the free world. In dedicating what he called the "world’s fai-yah," Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president of the United States to be televised. … Sarnoff was clearly taking credit for the invention in a way that Farnsworth knew he could never match, creating an impression that could never be erased. Sarnoff was doing this through the very power of television itself.

> In 1958, RCA entered into a landmark consent decree with the Justice Department, agreeing to license its color TV patents to any American set maker at no cost.

> John Kennedy had gone in, if not exactly an unknown, certainly the underdog, and he had come out looking a winner, while Richard Nixon had in one brief appearance squandered the advantage of eight years of the vice-presidency, and had come out looking a loser. The effect was so great that it was sixteen years before two presidential nominees again debated

> perpetual usage of all the remaining Farnsworth patents to RCA, GE, and Zenith for onetime royalty payments. All three firms accepted the offer, yielding a total of about $3 million, which put the Farnsworth Corporation just short of paying off its debt. With no more options, Nicholas moved to put the company up for sale … Farnsworth wanted to find a low-temperature or perhaps a split-second way to achieve fusion safely

[Anirudh Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the greatest story that was never told. This book is the tale of a farm boy from Idaho who invented the television. It was no easy task, as he had to fight a giant corporation with a ruthless megalomaniac president, David Sarnoff. That's not all, it is a tale of broken marriage, corporate espionage, deceit, courtroom drama and many more themes. It is so good that if someone comes to me with a script of this biography I will produce it to make a film (will have to sell my house, a couple of body parts though). The best part of the book was the writing, It is so immersive and creates the entire environment of early 1900's with the references to music, political stature and the language. I could see that world right before my eyes. Hats off for the author to writing such an immersive and detailed book. The best part of the book was discovering little nuggets of information like how NBC, CBS and ABC started, the first televised image was a dollar sign and many more.
This book is highly recommended not only because of the information, but the emotional roller coaster ride that this is.

[Maurice Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

To go from worrying about whether the chatbots are going to take over to reading about a kid who invented television is insane. Anyway the book was pretty well written. The parts about Sarnoff are so extensive this is kind of a dual biography. But who cares about some grasping business dork. Sure there is some drama there but it isn't central to that story at all. Or maybe i am just distracted by the crazy notion of a potato farmer inventing TV on his families Potato farm when he was 14. This guy was a real genius who actually made something not some idiot business dude like all those who get credit for everything today. YEs it is a group effort and everything but this guy carried the basic idea around in his head since he was a kid and he had to strive mightily to get it made.

[Evan Schwartz]

Out now in audio, avail through Audible. Some authors are uncomfortable with audio versions, but this one is so well done, such terrific narration.

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Lone-Inve...

Also grateful to share that The Last Lone Inventor has been named by Amazon to its all-time list of 100 Biographies & Memoirs to Read in a Lifetime.

see:
https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks...

[Roy Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an electrical engineer, and Philo Farnsworth is one of my heroes. My uncle worked for RCA, so my allegiance is split on this one. I go with Philo. RCA was too busy playing dirty tricks to protect their AM radio golden goose. Great story. Well written. Lots of insight into the struggles of an independent inventor.

[Bala · Rating 5 out of 5]

And to think that the lone inventor went on to take on a corporation and challenge a changing culture

[Matthew Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story. I knew some of it as a history and technology geek. It was nice to get more of the details on Philo's life and work.

[David Klingenberger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a YA version of the story.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up for $5 at the Strand in the never-before-visited Science section - I was like Johnny 5 in Short Circuit when he goes into the bookstore and shouts "INPUT!!" Oh, so many wonderful things.

Anyway.

This book was very readable; the author organized the chapters so that you'd read a chapter about Philo T. Farnsworth, the farm kid who came up with the idea of electronic television in the 1920s, and then one about David Sarnoff, the head of RCA who wanted to be known himself as the Father of Television. It's a classic David and Goliath tale, and I felt this sense that I needed to tell everyone I knew about Farnsworth after I read it because he didn't get the recognition he deserved. Seriously, we should be calling TVs "Farnsworths," because they would not exist without this guy, who was a genius.

Additionally, there are lots of tidbits about how TV works, the theory of relativity, patent law, monopolies, and other information that might come in handy at a cocktail party or a taping of Jeopardy!

As I was reading it, I was thinking, "Why hasn't anyone dramatized this story?" It's so perfect for one of those historical biopics that have been flooding the market in the past few years. Strangely, after I bought and read the book, I remembered that a friend of mine was going to be working on a show called The Farnsworth Invention (she was excited because Hank Azaria is going to be in it), and I thought, "Hmmmm...could it be the same story?" Apparently, it is, since Hank Azaria will be playing David Sarnoff! I'm stoked.

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love studying the history of science and seldom has a book on this topic read more like a novel. The mind of young genius Philo T. Farnsworth seems to be overflowing with ideas almost from birth. The timing is right for he comes of age just as the information age is being transformed from the print medium that ruled the nineteenth century to audio and video that will rule the twentieth century. Many men have laid claim to the title "The Father of Television," but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Farnsworth ended up a footnote in history yet he was the first to demonstrate an electronic process for scanning, transmitting and receiving moving images, a discovery that changed the way we live. Unfortunately Farnsworth, the "lone inventor", comes up against David Sarnoff the media mogul who uses his control over radio leverage the same control over the beginnings of television. Their battle is epic and Evan Schwartz tells the story so well that it kept me interested both through the discoveries and the disaster (for Farnsworth) that followed. Adding to my enjoyment was the opportunity to see a production of Aaron Sorkin's play, The Farnsworth Invention, based in part on Farnsworth's life.

[Isaac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aspiring screenwriters take note: the Philo T. Farnsworth story is an absolute goldmine. From his humble beginnings on a farm as a fan of science fiction magazines to his idea that the plow lines of a field could be used as a template for the transmission of images using electron beams directed in the same fashion across a luminescent screen, from his initial experiments with home-fashioned equipment to the eventual patent wars with RCA which nearly left him destitute, this guy did an amazing thing and was nearly buried with the secret. There are several books out there about him and this is the one I happened to pick up. Maybe there is a better one, but the facts hold up on their own so you should at least google his name or something like that. Inventors usually seem to have interesting histories that go along with their inventions, and Farnsworth is no exception.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about Philo T. Farnsworth, who invented television. It's how an individual inventor can basically no longer invent something and make money from it, as the big corporations must be involved. David Sarnoff, from RCA, stole Farnsworth's idea for TV, and made money from it. The nastiness of Sarnoff is portrayed well.
The book tells about how NBC and CBS got started as television stations, which I found interesting. It talks about Einstein, Edison, Bell and Marconi as inventors and individuals, also interesting. The importance of radio in the 20's and 30's is developed, and RCA's influence on it is discussed, which was fascinating from the historical point of view.

[Alan McClain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the amazing true story of the inventor of television, Philo Farnsworth, and his struggles to become successful with his team of electrical engineers who originated and perfected television. He was an American genius whose original design for television went to the moon with Apollo 11 in July, 1969 -- the first of six manned landings on the moon. He worked on automatic control systems for airplanes and even was working on generating electricity from nuclear fusion. The author has done a hero's job of researching and presenting the life and times of this amazing genius who began as a farm boy in Idaho.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting to note that Philo became somewhat disenchanted to the point of being critical about how the use of television ultimately transpired and evolved as more of an entertainment and "spin" medium vs. what he had hoped would be more along the lines of pure and honest communication. His interest lied more in the technology and workings of the instrument than it's actual application over the long term.

I enjoyed this book very much. I lived in the same neighborhood as Philo's widow (Elma "Pem" Farnsworth) in the early 90's and now find myself wishing that I got to know her better!

[John E · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a former Utahn, I knew of Farnsworth. This book was very good in discussing the development of the science of television (Farnsworth) and the corporate business of television (Sarnoff). Farnsworth was the idealist who provided the science, but society had changed from the older individualistic society to the corporate society that he could never really understand. Sarnoff was the egotistic plotter who sought and manipulated the new corporate power for the greater glory of Sarnoff. It all leads to "Duck Dynasty."

[Sandra Strange]

This book tells the story of Philo T. Farnsworth, the true inventor of television, and his legal fight against David Sarnoff, who took his invention and made a fortune with it. The villainy Farnsworth has to face and the chapter after chapter when he and his family suffer because he is trying to get justice get a little tiresome after awhile, but it happened...and it may still be happening to the anonymous geniuses who originate innovation.

[Courtney Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating tale of a young boy with a brilliant idea who worked hard to bring his vision to fruition. I have always been fascinated by inventors and Schwartz does an excellent job of creating a juxtaposition between Farnsworth the brilliant inventor and Sarnoff the CEO who is brilliant at taking credit for other people's work.

[Jeremiah Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating bit of history, and extremely compelling in its writing. It's a glimpse into the monopoly that was RCA (and the egomaniac who ran it), the birth of NBC and CBS, and even the involvement of important people like Albert Einstein and multiple US Presidents. One of the best non-fiction books I've read in a long time.

[Linde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book...it is well written, but does give a lot of detail. I am related to Philo Farnsworth (my Grandpa's cousin) which made it more interesting to me. It is not a light read, but well done.

[Riley]

It stars a relative; I ought to read it some time, no?

[Cohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting true story of the birth of the television...

[Dave Darus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me really think are their anymore inventor/sceince geniuses out there that can have such an impact on nearly everyone. Maybe the world has gotten too big and complex, everything is now niche.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good boy. Amazing story of Philo T. Farnsworth and how he invented television.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched, and easy read. Leads one to want to learn more about the inventor of television

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and a fascinating study of both Farnsworth and Sarnoff. For someone like myself who is not scientifically minded, the details of the invention were educational!

[Mike Spencer]

Great book about the drive it takes to win and people who try to take of advantage of you for profit.