William Ross Aiken: Father of the flat-screen TV
By Marc Perton
A few hours ago, I had no idea who William Ross AIken was. Now, thanks to this post on Make, he’s my new hero. Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. But I do have a soft spot for unsung pioneers of tech, and Aiken is nothing if not an unsung pioneer. It turns out that Aiken invented a practical flat CRT —less than 3 inches thick—in the 1950s, but couldn’t find anyone to manufacture it. RCA, the leading TV-maker at the time, had already sunk a ton of cash into other tech, and didn’t want to spook shareholders by doing a 180 to roll out sets based on Aiken’s plans. And no other manufacturer would risk taking on RCA by marketing something incompatible with its sets. So, Aiken’s tech—which could have resulted in flat CRT sets in the early 60s instead of the early 2000s—went nowhere, and the guy ended up working for a signage company that went nowhere and writing manuals for WordStar. This profile from 1958 is like a time capsule from an alternate reality, showing a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been, and this 1996 IEEE interview lays out the whole sad story of corporate bureaucracy standing in the way of what could have been one of the most innovative inventions in the history of broadcasting.
A few hours ago, I had no idea who William Ross AIken was. Now, thanks to this post on Make, he’s my new hero. Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. But I do have a soft spot for unsung pioneers of tech, and Aiken is nothing if not an unsung pioneer. It turns out that Aiken invented a practical flat CRT —less than 3 inches thick—in the 1950s, but couldn’t find anyone to manufacture it. RCA, the leading TV-maker at the time, had already sunk a ton of cash into other tech, and didn’t want to spook shareholders by doing a 180 to roll out sets based on Aiken’s plans. And no other manufacturer would risk taking on RCA by marketing something incompatible with its sets. So, Aiken’s tech—which could have resulted in flat CRT sets in the early 60s instead of the early 2000s—went nowhere, and the guy ended up working for a signage company that went nowhere and writing manuals for WordStar. This profile from 1958 is like a time capsule from an alternate reality, showing a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been, and this 1996 IEEE interview lays out the whole sad story of corporate bureaucracy standing in the way of what could have been one of the most innovative inventions in the history of broadcasting.
October 30th, 2007 05:25
[...] April, inspired by a scan on Modern Mechanix, I wrote this post about William Ross Aiken, who designed a workable flat-panel TV in 1958. Yesterday, I got an email from Aiken’s [...]
November 27th, 2007 12:31
I purchased a tube tester from e-bay that Mr. Aiken used to own. After I read about the man, I had to have this tester. I was looking for one as I was needing one, but the fact someone that appeared to be so ahead of his time owned the one I saw, I was willing to do what ever it took to own it.
I can only hope some of his knowledge from it will pass through to me! A very remarkable man from all I have read!