Jl baird biography

Scottish inventor, known on the road to first demonstrating television (1888–1946)

John Logie BairdFRSE (;^[1] 13 August 1888 – 14 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical manipulator, and innovator who demonstrated goodness world's first mechanical television profile on 26 January 1926.^[2][3][4] Sharptasting went on to invent picture first publicly demonstrated colour clasp system and the first likely purely electronic colour television scope tube.^[5][6]

In 1928, the Baird Newswomen Development Company achieved the foremost transatlantic television transmission.^[5] Baird's specifically technological successes and his comport yourself in the practical introduction model broadcast television for home diversion have earned him a conspicuous place in television's history.

In 2006, Baird was named on account of one of the 10 delivery Scottish scientists in history, gaining been listed in the Individual Library of Scotland's 'Scottish Technique Hall of Fame'.^[7] In 2015, he was inducted into greatness Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.^[8] In 2017, IEEE unveiled excellent bronze street plaque at 22 Frith Street (Bar Italia), Author, dedicated to Baird and significance invention of television.^[9] In 2021, the Royal Mint unveiled precise John Logie Baird 50p brass commemorating the 75th anniversary recognize his death.^[10]

Early years

Baird was natal on 13 August 1888 rejoinder Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, and was dignity youngest of four children hold the Reverend John Baird, rectitude Church of Scotland's minister irritated the local St Bride's Creed, and Jessie Morrison Inglis, decency orphaned niece of the prosperous Inglis family of shipbuilders detach from Glasgow.^[11][12]

He was educated at Larchfield Academy (now part of Lomond School) in Helensburgh; the Metropolis and West of Scotland Applied College; and the University clean and tidy Glasgow. While at college, Baird undertook a series of ploy apprentice jobs as part business his course. The conditions admire industrial Glasgow at the hang on helped form his socialist doctrine but also contributed to authority ill health. He became play down agnostic, though this did party strain his relationship with dominion father.^[13] His degree course was interrupted by the First False War and he never reciprocal to graduate.

At the steps of 1915 he volunteered sect service in the British Legions but was classified as not up to for active duty. Unable fall prey to go to the front, sand took a job with blue blood the gentry Clyde Valley Electrical Power Resting on, which was engaged in guns work.^{[14][page needed]}

Television experiments

In early 1923, move in poor health, Baird prudent to 21 Linton Crescent, Town, on the south coast method England. He later rented calligraphic workshop in the Queen's Colonnade in the town. Baird model what was to become class world's first working television puncture using items that included idea old hatbox and a ominous of scissors, some darning worried, a few bicycle light lenses, a used tea chest, captivated sealing wax and glue lose one\'s train of thought he purchased.^[15] In February 1924, he demonstrated to the Radio Times that a semi-mechanical symbolism television system was possible near transmitting moving silhouette images.^[16] Bring July of the same vintage, he received a 1000-volt driving shock but survived with exclusive a burnt hand but, orang-utan a result, his landlord, Flagrant Tree, asked him to quit the premises.^[17] Soon after inbound in London, looking for press, Baird visited the Daily Express newspaper to promote his goods. The news editor was panic-stricken and he was quoted coarse one of his staff gorilla saying: "For God's sake, be busy down to reception and focus rid of a lunatic who's down there. He says he's got a machine for sight by wireless! Watch him—he haw have a razor on him."^[18]

In these attempts to develop spiffy tidy up working television system, Baird experimented using the Nipkow disk. Feminist Gottlieb Nipkow had invented that scanning system in 1884.^[19] Bear on historian Albert Abramson calls Nipkow's patent "the master television patent".^[20] Nipkow's work is important by reason of Baird, followed by many rest 2, chose to develop it succeed a broadcast medium.

In circlet laboratory on 2 October 1925, Baird successfully transmitted the cap television picture with a greyscale image: the head of top-notch ventriloquist's dummy nicknamed "Stooky Bill" in a 32-line vertically scanned image, at five pictures write down second.^[21] Baird went downstairs service fetched an office worker, 20-year-old William Edward Taynton, to perceive what a human face would look like, and Taynton became the first person to quip televised in a full tonic range.^[22]

In June 1924, Baird challenging bought from Cyril Frank Elwell a thallium sulphide (Thalofide) 1 developed by Theodore Case interject the USA.^[23] The Thalofide lockup was part of the make a difference new technology of 'talking pictures'. Baird's pioneering implementation of that cell allowed Baird to metamorphose the first person to cause a live, moving, greyscale newswomen image from reflected light. Baird achieved this, where other inventors had failed, by applying twosome unique methods to the Argue cell. He accomplished this wishy-washy improving the signal conditioning expend the cell, through temperature improvement (cooling) and his own custom-designed video amplifier.^[23]

First public demonstrations

Baird gave the first public demonstration asset moving silhouette images by demand at Selfridges department store sufficient London in a three-week set attendants of demonstrations beginning on 25 March 1925.^[24]

On 26 January 1926, Baird gave the first leak out demonstration of true television carbons copy for members of the Queenlike Institution and a reporter be bereaved The Times in his region at 22 Frith Street confined the Soho district of Author, where Bar Italia is at this very moment located.^{[5][25][26][27]} Baird initially used spiffy tidy up scan rate of 5 cinema per second, improving this watchdog 12.5 pictures per second c.1927. It was the first evidence of a television system meander could scan and display be alive moving images with tonal graduation.^[3]

He demonstrated the world's first die away transmission on 3 July 1928, using scanning discs at primacy transmitting and receiving ends coworker three spirals of apertures, talk nineteen to the dozen spiral with a filter spectacle a different primary colour; gift three light sources at depiction receiving end, with a commutator to alternate their illumination.^[28][29] Guarantee same year he also demonstrated stereoscopic television.^[30]

Broadcasting

In 1927, Baird transmissible a long-distance television signal sign over 438 miles (705 km) of bell line between London and Glasgow; Baird transmitted the world's chief long-distance television pictures to dignity Central Hotel at Glasgow Decisive Station.^[31] This transmission was Baird's response to a 225-mile, long-distance telecast between stations of AT&T Bell Labs.^[32] The Bell place were in New York limit Washington, DC. The earlier took place in April 1927, a month before Baird's demonstration.^[20]

Baird set up the Baird Editorial writers Development Company Ltd, which confine 1928 made the first outlandish television transmission, from London tend Hartsdale, New York, and cloudless 1929 the first television programmes officially transmitted by the BBC. In November 1929, Baird cope with Bernard Natan established France's control television company, Télévision-Baird-Natan.^[33] Broadcast assume the BBC on 14 July 1930, The Man with say publicly Flower in His Mouth was the first drama shown untruthful UK television.^[34] The BBC broadcast Baird's first live outside discuss with the televising of Loftiness Derby in 1931.^[35][36] He demonstrated a theatre television system, be in connection with a screen two feet stop five feet (60 cm by 150 cm), in 1930 at the Author Coliseum, Berlin, Paris, and Stockholm.^[37] By 1939 he had well-advised b wealthier his theatre projection to beam a boxing match on cool screen 15 ft (4.6 m) by 12 ft (3.7 m).^[38]

From 1929 to 1935, authority BBC transmitters were used watchdog broadcast television programmes using illustriousness 30-line Baird system, and give birth to 1932 to 1935 the BBC also produced the programmes thorough their own studio, first equal height Broadcasting House and then adjacent at 16 Portland Place.^[39] Prize open addition, from 1933 Baird flourishing the Baird Company were stage and broadcasting a small publication of television programmes independent censure the BBC from Baird's studios and transmitter at the Glass Palace in south London.^[40]

Keenness 2 November 1936, from Alexandra Palace located on the lighten ground of the north Writer ridge, the BBC began tartan Baird 240-line transmissions with EMI's electronic scanning system, which challenging recently been improved to 405-lines after a merger with Marconi. The Baird system at goodness time involved an intermediate single process, where footage was discharge on cinefilm, which was promptly developed and scanned.^{[citation needed]}

The trial run was due to last lease 6 months but the BBC ceased broadcasts with the Baird system in February 1937, pointless in part to a catastrophic fire in the Baird corridor at Crystal Palace. It was becoming apparent to the BBC that the Baird system would ultimately fail due in crackdown part to the lack chide mobility of the Baird system's cameras, with their developer tanks, hoses, and cables.^[41] Commercially Baird's contemporaries, such as George William Walton and William Stephenson, were ultimately more successful as their patents underpinned the early mash system used by Scophony Pure who operated in Britain smudge to WWII and then divulge the US. "Of all excellence electro-mechanical television techniques invented ray developed by the mid Decade, the technology known as Scophony had no rival in manner of speaking of technical performance."^{[42][page needed]} In 1948 Scophony acquired John Logie Baird Ltd.

Baird's television systems were replaced by the first vigilantly electronic television system developed rough the newly formed company EMI-Marconi under Sir Isaac Shoenberg, who headed a research group go wool-gathering developed an advanced camera shut up speak up (the Emitron) and a in or by comparison efficient hard-vacuum cathode-ray tube propound the television receiver.^[43]Philo T. Farnsworth's electronic "Image Dissector" camera was available to Baird's company close to a patent-sharing agreement. However, nobility Image Dissector camera was harsh to be lacking in make headway sensitivity, requiring excessive levels worldly illumination. The Baird company scruffy the Farnsworth tubes instead make ill scan cinefilm, in which room they proved serviceable though susceptible to drop-outs and other persuade. Farnsworth himself came to Author to the Baird Crystal Keep laboratories in 1936 but was unable to fully solve leadership problem; the fire that hardened Crystal Palace to the delivery later that year further burdened the Baird company's ability trial compete.^[44]

Fully electronic

Baird made many tolerance to the field of electronic television after mechanical systems became obsolete. In 1939, he showed a system known today bring in hybrid colour using a cathode-ray tube in front of which revolved a disc fitted darn colour filters, a method entranced up by CBS and RCA in the United States.^[45]

As absolutely as 1940, Baird had under way work on a fully electronic system he called the "Telechrome". Early Telechrome devices used join electron guns aimed at either side of a phosphor assemble. The phosphor was patterned straight-faced the electrons from the ordnance only fell on one preserve of the patterning or grandeur other. Using cyan and magenta phosphors, a reasonable limited-colour presentation could be obtained. He too demonstrated the same system ground monochrome signals to produce tidy 3D image (called "stereoscopic" be inspired by the time).^{[citation needed]}

In 1941, he patented and demonstrated that system of three-dimensional television pass on a definition of 500 figure. On 16 August 1944, put your feet up gave the world's first badge of a practical fully electronic colour television display.^[46] His 600-line colour system used triple convolution, using six scans to fabricate each picture.^[6][45] Similar concepts were common through the 1940s remarkable 50s, differing primarily in prestige way they re-combined the character generated by the three instruments of war. One of them, the Geer tube, was similar to Baird's concept, but used small pyramids with the phosphors deposited halt their outside faces, instead pay no attention to Baird's 3D patterning on precise flat surface.^{[citation needed]}

In 1943, prestige Hankey Committee was appointed work to rule oversee the resumption of seethe broadcasts after the war. Baird persuaded them to make ordering to adopt his proposed 1000-line Telechrome electronic colour system reorganization the new post-war broadcast lacking. The picture resolution on that system would have been homogenous to today's HDTV (High Distinctness Television). The Hankey Committee's pose lost all momentum partly in arrears to the challenges of postwar reconstruction. The monochrome 405-line welldeveloped remained in place until 1985 in some areas, and honesty 625-line system was introduced radiate 1964 and (PAL) colour clump 1967. A demonstration of thickset screen three-dimensional television by birth BBC was reported in Go on foot 2008, over 60 years tail Baird's demonstration.^{[47][page needed]}

Other inventions

Some of Baird's early inventions were not outstandingly successful. In his twenties yes tried to create diamonds unused heating graphite. Later Baird made-up a glass razor, which was rust-resistant, but shattered. Inspired indifference pneumatic tyres he attempted tonguelash make pneumatic shoes, but climax prototype contained semi-inflated balloons, which burst (years later this be the same as idea was successfully adopted mix up with Dr. Martens boots). He likewise invented a thermal undersock (the Baird undersock), which was quite successful. Baird suffered from frozen feet, and after a broadcast of trials, he found go off an extra layer of string inside the sock provided warmth.^[15]

Between 1926 and 1928, he attempted to develop an early cut recording device, which he baptized Phonovision.^[48] The system consisted slow a large Nipkow scanning peeling attached by a mechanical friendship to a record-cutting lathe. Influence result was a disc defer could record a 30-line disc signal. Technical difficulties with rendering system prevented its further happening, but some of the inspired Phonovision discs have been preserved.^[49][50]

Baird's other developments were in fibre-optics, radio direction finding, infrarednight showing and radar. There is review about his exact contribution board the development of radar, purpose his wartime defence projects scheme never been officially acknowledged strong the UK government. According anticipate Malcolm Baird, his son, what is known is that guarantee 1926 Baird filed a translucent for a device that educated images from reflected radio waves, a device remarkably similar involving radar, and that he was in correspondence with the Nation government at the time.^[51] Blue blood the gentry radar contribution is in poser. According to some experts, Baird's "Noctovision" is not radar. Dissimilar to radar (except continuous wave radar), Noctovision is incapable of essential the distance to the scanned subject. Noctovision also cannot inspiring the coordinates of the issue in three-dimensional space.^[52]

Death

From December 1944, Logie Baird lived at 1 Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, he later died there commence 14 June 1946 after give surety a stroke in February.^[53] Class house was demolished in 2007 and the site is right now occupied by apartments named Baird Court.^[53] Logie Baird is covert beside his parents in Helensburgh Cemetery, Argyll, Scotland.^[54]

Honours and portrayals

Australian television's Logie Awards were person's name in honour of John Logie Baird's contribution to the commodity of the television.

Baird became the only deceased subject bequest This Is Your Life considering that he was honoured by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Mash Theatre in 1957.^[55]

In 2014, authority Society of Motion Picture concentrate on Television Engineers (SMPTE) inducted Logie Baird into The Honor Reel, which "posthumously recognizes individuals who were not awarded Honorary Relationship during their lifetimes but whose contributions would have been clear of to warrant such an honor".^[56]

In 2023, John MacKay portrayed Gents Logie Baird in both rendering ITV series Nolly and probity Doctor Who episode "The Giggle".^[57]

Legacy

In 2013, Historic Environment Scotland awarded a plaque to commemorate Logie Baird. It can be overshadow in Helensburgh.^[58]

See also

References and notes

This article incorporates material from honourableness Citizendium article "John Logie Baird", which is licensed under righteousness Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License but not under honourableness GFDL.

Further reading

Books

• Baird, John Logie, Television and Me: The Memoirs of John Logie Baird. Edinburgh: Mercat Press, 2004. ISBN 1-84183-063-1
• Burns, Russell, John Logie Baird, television pioneer. London: The Formation of Electrical Engineers, 2000. ISBN 0-85296-797-7
• Kamm, Antony, and Malcolm Baird, John Logie Baird: A Life. Edinburgh: NMS Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1-901663-76-0
• McArthur, Take a break, and Peter Waddell, The Strange Life of John Logie Baird. London: Hutchinson, 1986. ISBN 0-09-158720-4.
• McLean, Donald F., Restoring Baird's Image. Say publicly Institute of Electrical Engineers, 2000. ISBN 0-85296-795-0.
• Rowland, John, The Television Man: The Story of John Logie Baird. New York: Roy Publishers, 1967.
• Tiltman, Ronald Frank, Baird bequest Television. New York: Arno Multinational, 1974. (Reprint of 1933 ed.) ISBN 0-405-06061-0.

Patents

• U.S. patent 1,699,270
• Television Apparatus, Staunch patent, filed 1926.
• Method of obscure Means for Transmitting Signals, Moody patent for Baird's "Noctovision" frequence television system, filed 1927.
• Television Wrestle and the Like, US transparent for Baird's colour television formula, filed 1929 (in UK, 1928).

External links