The Full Story
John Logie Baird was a Scottish farm boy with big ideas and terrible health. He'd been told by doctors to find a warm climate, and did his early experimental work in Hastings on the south coast before moving to a laboratory in Soho, London.
In January 1926, at his Soho laboratory, he demonstrated working television to members of the Royal Institution: live, moving images with real shades of light and dark. His early apparatus had been built from scraps, a biscuit tin, darning needles, cardboard, string and sealing wax. It looked ridiculous. It worked.
Baird's system was mechanical, using a spinning disc to scan the image. It was soon overtaken by fully electronic systems. The BBC began the world's first regular high-definition television service in November 1936, broadcasting from Alexandra Palace in London. It trialled both Baird's mechanical system and the rival Marconi-EMI electronic one; the electronic system won, and Baird's was dropped in early 1937.
Then came 2 June 1953. The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Millions watched it on television, the first great shared national television moment, and it persuaded huge numbers of people to buy or gather round a set.
A Scottish inventor with a biscuit tin started the road to the screen you're watching right now.
Why This Matters
John Logie Baird demonstrated working television in 1926, ahead of his rivals, though his mechanical system was soon overtaken by electronic ones. The BBC's adoption of television created the first mass broadcast medium, changing communication and culture forever.
Key Facts
- ⚠Correction: the video places Baird's 1926 demonstration in a Hastings attic, says the BBC ran the world's first regular television service, and gives 20 million Coronation viewers as the most in history. Baird's 1926 demonstration was at his Soho laboratory in London (his earlier experiments were in Hastings); the BBC's 1936 service was the world's first regular high-definition service; and Coronation viewing figures vary, so this page says millions rather than a precise record-breaking total.