Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr.

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Thomas Toliver Goldsmith, Jr. was an early television pioneer, the inventor of the first video game, and a professor of physics at Furman University.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Goldsmith was born in Greenville, South Carolina on January 10, 1910.[1][2][3] He received his B.S. at Furman University in Greenville in 1931, in physics, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1936, under the supervision of Dr. Frederick Van Bide.[2][3][4] After graduating from Cornell, he became director of research for DuMont Laboratories, and (after 1953) vice president;[5] he chaired the Synchronization Panel of the National Television System Committee and also the Radio Manufacturers Association Committee on Cathode-Ray Tubes.[3] He also became the chief engineer for the DuMont Television Network;[6] television station WTTG, formerly in the DuMont network, is named for his initials.[7] In 1966 he left DuMont to become a professor of physics at Furman,[1] and he retired to become an emeritus professor in 1975.[4]

[edit] The first video game

U.S. Patent 2,455,992 , granted to Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann in 1948, describes what may be the world's first video game, and also the first video game patent.[8] Entitled "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device", the patent described a game involving aiming missiles at a target, and was inspired by the radar displays used in World War II.

[edit] Awards and honors

Goldsmith is a Life Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.[9] In 1949, he won an Institute of Radio Engineers Award "For his contributions in the development of cathode-ray instrumentation and in the field of television."[10] In 1979, the Radio Club of America honored Goldsmith with the first Allan B. DuMont Citation for "important contributions in the field of electronics to the science of television".[11] In 1999, Goldsmith won the first Dr. Charles Townes Individual Achievement Award as part of the Innovision Technology Awards competition honoring innovation in the upstate South Carolina area.[12]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b “Scopes' story: fits and starts”, EE Times, 1997, <http://www.eetimes.com/anniversary/designclassics/scopes.html> .
  2. ^ a b Polkinghorn, Frank (May 14, 1973), Thomas Goldsmith: An Interview, IEEE History Center, <http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/history_center/oral_history/abstracts/goldsmith8ab.html> .
  3. ^ a b c “Contributors”, Proceedings of the I.R.E.: 248, 1944, <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/10933/35706/01694967.pdf> .
  4. ^ a b List of emeriti in Furman University catalog 2005–2006, p. 149.
  5. ^ “3 Promoted by DuMont; Officials of Laboratories Are Made Vice Presidents”, New York Times, November 23, 1953 .
  6. ^ Weinstein, David (2004), The Forgotten Network: Dumont and the Birth of American Television, Temple University Press, ISBN 1592134998 .
  7. ^ Brennan, Patricia (May 14, 1995), “WTTG Marks 50 Years; Born In a Hotel Room”, Washington Post .
  8. ^ Silberman, Gregory P. (August 30, 2006), “Patents Are Becoming Crucial to Video Games”, The National Law Journal, <http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1156855192674> .
  9. ^ Life Fellows – SMPTE.org.
  10. ^ “I.R.E. Awards 1949”, Proceedings of the I.R.E. 37 (4): 412–415, 1949, <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=1698002> .
  11. ^ Radio Club of America – Awards.
  12. ^ Innovision Technology Award winners; Weaver, Terry (June 14, 2004), “Seeking companies with 'InnoVision'”, Greenville News, <http://greenvilleonline.com/news/opinion/2004/06/14/2004061433320.htm> .