Who Invented the Flat Screen TV?
Who invented the flat screen tv? Well, the answer to this question may surprise and shock you. The fact is that this type of television is anything but a recent phenomenon.
What would you say if you were told that the first flat panel television set was invented in 1958? Chances are, your mind would revert to those old televisions on wheels causing instant doubt. However, there is no amount of fiction in the above statement. Who invented the flat screen tv? The first thin television was invented in 1958 by a man named William Ross Aiken. The first “tube” was less than three inches thick, and it used a cathode-ray tube. This television was devised as a part of an experiment that took place at Kaiser Aircraft and Electronics Corporation Laboratories. When news of this television first broke out, the United States military saw a great opportunity.
Aiken was asked to develop the television for military use (specifically aircraft use) and he was commissioned by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Eventually, these new televisions were used within aircraft in order t show how the sky looked from inside the cockpit. By now, you may be wondering why this technology was not widespread during the Fifties if it existed. Well, as with most things in the scientific world, it was really a matter of licensing.
Sadly, Aiken passed away in 2007 largely unknown to the modern world. Though he had invented the very first thin television back in 1958, it never did gain any real recognition due to licensing problems. However, there is one plus side to this story – you are reading this article, which means that you now know the truth behind this type of television. In short, you can easily pass along this knowledge, and Aiken may one day get the credit that he deserves. So, who invented the first flat screen tv? Well, now you know.
Although we tend to take this technology for granted today, William Ross Aiken almost changed the world during the Fifties – imagine how advanced television technology would be today if he had continued to work on this first model!
Since you know the answer to the original question (who invented the flat screen tv?), you can easily begin to imagine how the world may look today if Aiken’s licensing had gone through. Still, most of us are glad that this technology has finally been introduced to the general public.