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Vladimir K. Zworykin

Russian-American inventor Vladimir K. Zworykin was a pivotal figure in developing electronic television systems, including the iconoscope and kinescope.

1. Overview

Vladimir Kosma Zworykin (Владимир Козьмич ЗворыкинVladimir Koz'mich ZvorykinRussian) was a prominent Russian-American inventor, engineer, and a pivotal figure in the development of television technology. His original Russian patronymic was Koz'mich (Козьмич), which he later anglicized to Kosma as a middle name. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work on electronic television systems, particularly his invention of the television transmitting and receiving systems that utilized cathode-ray tubes. His contributions were instrumental in advancing television from an experimental concept to a practical reality in the early 1930s. Beyond television, Zworykin also played a significant role in the development of other electronic imaging technologies, including charge storage-type tubes, infrared image tubes, and the electron microscope. His innovations laid much of the foundational groundwork for modern electronic imaging and broadcasting.

2. Early life and education

Vladimir Zworykin's early life in Russia and his foundational education profoundly influenced his scientific career, setting the stage for his later groundbreaking work in electronics.

2.1. Birth and Family Background

Vladimir Zworykin was born in Murom, Russia, either in 1888 or 1889. The exact date of his birth has been inconsistently stated by Zworykin himself and in various historical records, with some sources indicating July 17 or July 30, 1889, while others point to 1888. He came from a family of prosperous merchants. His upbringing was relatively calm, and he often noted that he rarely saw his father except on religious holidays.

2.2. Education and Early Research

Zworykin pursued his higher education at the Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology, where he studied under Boris Rosing. Rosing was a pioneer in television research, and Zworykin assisted him with experimental work on television in the basement of Rosing's private laboratory at the School of Artillery in Saint Petersburg. Their focus was on the problem of "electrical telescopy," a concept that was still largely theoretical at the time. Rosing had filed his first patent for a television system in 1907, which notably featured an early cathode-ray tube as a receiver and a mechanical device as a transmitter. In 1911, Rosing demonstrated an improved design, which is recognized as the world's first public demonstration of any kind of television system. Zworykin's personal records indicate he worked with Rosing from 1910 to 1914. After graduating in 1912, Zworykin continued his scientific pursuits, studying X-rays under Professor Paul Langevin in Paris.

3. Career

Zworykin's professional life was marked by significant contributions to television and other scientific fields, primarily through his work in the United States.

3.1. Service in Russia and Emigration to the United States

During World War I, Vladimir Zworykin was enlisted and served in the Russian Signal Corps. His duties involved testing radio equipment that was being manufactured for the Russian Army, including for Russian Marconi. Following the outbreak of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Russian Civil War, Zworykin made the decision to leave Russia for the United States. His initial departure in 1918 involved a journey through Siberia, traveling north along the Ob River to the Arctic Ocean as part of an expedition led by Russian scientist Innokenty P. Tolmachev, before eventually arriving in the U.S. by the end of 1918. He briefly returned to Omsk in 1919, then the capital of Admiral Kolchak's government, via Vladivostok, before returning to the United States on official duties for the Omsk government. These duties concluded with the collapse of the White movement in Siberia following Kolchak's death, at which point Zworykin decided to permanently remain in the United States.

3.2. Work at Westinghouse

Upon settling in the United States, Zworykin secured employment at the Westinghouse laboratories in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here, he was afforded the opportunity to resume his television experiments, building upon his earlier work in Russia.

3.3. Work at RCA and Television Development

Zworykin's most impactful work in television technology took place during his tenure at the RCA, where he spearheaded significant advancements.

3.3.1. Electronic Television System Development

In 1923, Zworykin filed a U.S. patent application for a "Television System," which he summarized in two applications. The first was filed on December 29, 1923, followed by a second in 1925 that contained largely the same content but included minor modifications and the addition of a Paget-type RGB raster screen for color transmission and reception. While he was granted a patent for the 1925 application in 1928, and two patents for the 1923 application (which was divided in 1931, leading to patents in 1935 and 1938), the equipment described in these early patents was never successfully demonstrated.

Zworykin's system concept involved the use of cathode-ray tubes for both transmitting and receiving images. This approach, which aimed to prevent the emission of electrons between scanning cycles, was reminiscent of Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton's proposal published in Nature in June 1908. A demonstration he gave in late 1925 or early 1926, though showing the potential of a cathode-ray tube-based system, was not considered a success by Westinghouse management. He was advised to "devote his time to more practical endeavors," yet he persisted in his efforts to refine his system. His doctoral dissertation in 1926, which earned him a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, focused on improving the output of photoelectric cells. Facing limitations in this area, Zworykin explored other avenues, including vibrating mirrors and facsimile transmission, filing patents related to these in 1929. Concurrently, he experimented with an improved cathode-ray receiving tube, filing a patent application for it in November 1929, and introducing this new receiver, which he named the "kinescope," at an Institute of Radio Engineers convention two days later.

By December 1929, Zworykin had developed a prototype of the kinescope. This led to a meeting with David Sarnoff, who would later become the president of RCA and founder of NBC. Sarnoff hired Zworykin to lead television development at RCA's factories and laboratories in Camden, New Jersey. The transition to RCA's Camden labs occurred in the spring of 1930, marking the beginning of the challenging task of developing a television transmitter. An internal evaluation in mid-1930 showed the kinescope performing well, albeit with a resolution of only 60 lines, while the transmitter remained mechanical. A significant breakthrough came when Zworykin's team decided to develop a new type of cathode-ray transmitter. This was inspired by the 1928 French and British patents of Hungarian inventor Kálmán Tihanyi, whom RCA had contacted in July 1930 after the publication of his patents. Tihanyi's design was unique, featuring a scanning electron beam that struck the photoelectric cell from the same side where the optical image was projected. Crucially, this system operated on a new principle: the accumulation and storage of charges during the entire interval between two scans by the cathode-ray beam.

3.3.2. Iconoscope and Kinescope Development

Zworykin and some of the historic camera tubes he developed
Zworykin and some of the historic camera tubes he developed

Building on the principles of charge accumulation, Zworykin's experiments began in April 1931. Following the successful development of the first promising experimental transmitters, the new camera tube was officially named the Iconoscope on October 23, 1931. Zworykin first demonstrated his iconoscope to RCA in 1932. He continued to refine the device, and the "image iconoscope," introduced in 1934, becoming productizable by the end of that year, and was a result of collaboration between Zworykin and RCA's licensee, Telefunken. Tihanyi's patent rights were also acquired. By 1935, the Reichspost in Germany began public broadcasts using this tube with a 180-line system. This technology was successfully employed in cameras for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where Farnsworth's Image Dissector was also used for film broadcasts, and which were broadcast to approximately 200 theaters. Zworykin also invented a night vision device capable of amplifying moonlight and starlight by up to 60,000 times, effectively turning night into day.

3.3.3. Other Technological Contributions

Beyond his direct work on television, Zworykin's expertise extended to other significant electronic imaging technologies. He made contributions to infrared image tubes, which are crucial for night vision and thermal imaging applications. His work also encompassed the development of the electron microscope, an instrument that revolutionized scientific research by enabling the visualization of structures at a much higher resolution than traditional optical microscopes.

3.4. Patents and Technical Innovations

Zworykin's innovative spirit was reflected in numerous patent applications that detailed his advancements in television and related fields. His 1923 patent application for a "Television System" was foundational, describing the use of cathode-ray tubes for both image transmission and reception. Although the equipment for this early patent was not successfully demonstrated, it laid the conceptual groundwork. A later patent, issued in 1928, specifically covered a color transmission version of his 1923 application. In November 1929, he filed a patent application for his improved cathode-ray receiving tube, which he named the "kinescope," a crucial component for displaying television images. His work on the iconoscope, a charge-storage camera tube, also led to significant patents, building on the principles of charge accumulation and storage that were key to electronic television.

3.5. Competition and Patent Disputes

The early development of television was a competitive field, marked by numerous inventors and patent disputes, notably involving Zworykin and Philo Farnsworth.

3.5.1. Philo Farnsworth and Patent Conflicts

RCA initiated an interference suit against rival television scientist Philo Farnsworth, asserting that Zworykin's 1923 patent held priority over Farnsworth's image dissector design. However, RCA was unable to provide evidence that Zworykin had produced a functional transmitter tube before 1931. While Farnsworth had previously lost two interference claims to Zworykin in 1928, he prevailed in this instance. The U.S. Patent Office ruled in 1934, awarding priority for the invention of the image dissector to Farnsworth. RCA's subsequent appeal was unsuccessful, but litigation over various related issues persisted for several years. Ultimately, David Sarnoff, then head of RCA, agreed to pay Farnsworth royalties for the use of his patents, acknowledging Farnsworth's independent and earlier development of key electronic television components.

4. Later Life and Retirement

After a distinguished career, Zworykin retired from RCA in 1954, holding the honorary title of vice president. In 1951, he married for the second time to Katherine Polevitzky (1888-1985), a Russian-born professor of bacteriology at the University of Pennsylvania. This was a second marriage for both, and the ceremony took place in Burlington, New Jersey.

In his later years, Zworykin developed a keen interest in new frontiers within medical engineering and biological engineering. He became a founder and the first president of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE). The IFMBE continues to honor outstanding research in engineering with the "Zworykin Award," which provides travel funds for the recipient to attend the award presentation at a World Congress. Despite his monumental contributions to television, Zworykin famously expressed his disdain for the quality of television programming in a 1974 interview, stating that he rarely watched it and that his greatest contribution to television was the invention of the "off" switch. He reportedly said he would not let his grandchildren watch television due to its poor quality.

Vladimir Zworykin died on July 29, 1982, in Princeton, New Jersey, at the age of 92. His wife, Katherine, passed away on February 18, 1985.

5. Personal Life

Vladimir Zworykin was married twice. His first marriage was to Tatiana Vasilieva in 1916, with whom he had two daughters. The couple later separated in the early 1930s. In 1951, he married Katherine Polevitzky, a Russian-born professor of bacteriology at the University of Pennsylvania.

6. Awards and Honors

Throughout his career, Vladimir Zworykin received numerous awards and honors for his significant contributions to science and technology:

  • 1934: Morris Liebmann Memorial Prize from the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE).
  • 1941: Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  • 1947: Awarded the Howard N. Potts Medal from The Franklin Institute.
  • 1948: Elected to the American Philosophical Society.
  • 1951: Received the IRE Medal of Honor.
  • 1952: Received the AIEE Edison Medal.
  • 1954: Named honorary vice president of RCA.
  • 1965: Received the Faraday Medal from Great Britain.
  • 1966: Awarded the National Medal of Science by the National Academy of Sciences, of which he was a member, for his contributions to scientific and engineering instruments and for promoting the application of engineering to medicine.
  • 1967: Received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
  • 1977: Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
  • 1980: Received the first Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor from the German Eduard Rhein Foundation.

From 1952 to 1986, the IEEE presented awards in the name of Vladimir K. Zworykin to deserving engineers. More recently, the "Zworykin Award" has been bestowed by the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE). He was also inducted into the New Jersey Inventor's Hall of Fame.

7. Legacy

Vladimir Zworykin's legacy is profound, primarily centered on his pioneering work in television technology and his broader impact on electronic imaging and engineering. He is recognized for his induction into both the New Jersey Inventor's Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. His contributions are also honored geographically, with Tektronix in Beaverton, Oregon, having named a street on its campus after him.

His life and work have been the subject of significant biographical efforts, including the 1995 publication of "Zworykin, Pioneer of Television" by Albert Abramson, which provides an in-depth account of his career. In 2010, Leonid Parfyonov produced a documentary film titled "Zvorykin-Muromets," further cementing his place in history. Zworykin is also listed in the Russian-American Chamber of Fame by the Congress of Russian Americans, an organization dedicated to recognizing Russian immigrants who have made outstanding contributions to American science or culture. His inventions, particularly the iconoscope and kinescope, laid the essential groundwork for the development and widespread adoption of electronic television, fundamentally transforming communication and media worldwide.