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            List of years in television       (table)
 1914 .  1915 .  1916 .  1917  . 1918  . 1919  . 1920 
1921 1922 1923 -1924- 1925 1926 1927
 1928 .  1929 .  1930 .  1931  . 1932  . 1933  . 1934 
       In radio : 1921 1922 1923 -1924- 1925 1926 1927     
          In film  : 1921 1922 1923 -1924- 1925 1926 1927     

This is a list of television-related events that occurred before 1925.

Global television events[]

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.

Births (before 1915)[]

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 opera) (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). (d. 2006)
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 5, 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).

Births (1916–1924)[]

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).
April 26, 1916 Vic Perrin American voice actor, The Outer Limits, Hanna-Barbera cartoons (d. 1989)
July 11, 1916 Reg Varney U.K Comedy Actor (The Rag Trade, On the Buses) (d. 2008)
July 23, 1916 Sandra Gould U.S. actress (Bewitched) (d. 1999).
November 4, 1916 Walter Cronkite U.S. anchorman (CBS Evening News). (d. 2009)
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).
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) (d. 2009)
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 14, 1922 Richard Deacon U.S. actor (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It to Beaver). (d. 1984)
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?). (d. 2009)
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) (d. 2009)
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 Canadian-born 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). (d. 2009)

See also[]

  • Table of years in television

References[]

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