IEE Science, Education & Technology Division: Chairman´s address. Seeing by electricity

About 50 years ago, during the year 1935, decisions were taken which led to the establishment, in the UK, of the world´s first, public, regular, high-definition, all-electronic television system. The first suggestion for transmitting images (of printed texts) from one place to another was made by Bain in 1843. Subsequently Bakewell (1848), Caselli (1862), Meyer (1869), d´Arlincourt (1872) and others devised methods which enabled images of maps, diagrams, messages and sketches to be sent from one place to another. However the early commercial ventures were not a success. The discovery in 1873 of the photoconductive effect of selenium led to numerous suggestions for `seeing by electricity¿ but the first demonstration of rudimentary television was not given until over 50 years later when Baird, in 1925, succeeded in transmitting and receiving low-definition images. In both the UK and the USA, particularly, various aspects of low-definition television were demonstrated, principally by Baird and Bell Laboratories. By the late 1920s it was evident that such television could not give rise to a generally acceptable television service. From c.1930, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) undertook extensive investigations on all-electronic television systems. The paper outlines some of the factors which led to the birth of the British 405-line television station at Alexandra Palace in 1936.