Milestone-Proposal:First demonstration of television 1926

To see comments, or add a comment to this discussion, click here.

Docket #:2016-03

This Proposal has been approved, and is now a Milestone

---

To the proposer’s knowledge, is this achievement subject to litigation?

Is the achievement you are proposing more than 25 years old? Yes

Is the achievement you are proposing within IEEE’s designated fields as defined by IEEE Bylaw I-104.11, namely: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy. Yes

Did the achievement provide a meaningful benefit for humanity? Yes

Was it of at least regional importance? Yes

Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to pay for the milestone plaque(s)? Yes

Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to arrange the dedication ceremony? Yes

Has the IEEE Section in which the milestone is located agreed to take responsibility for the plaque after it is dedicated? Yes

Has the owner of the site agreed to have it designated as an IEEE Milestone? Yes

---

Year or range of years in which the achievement occurred:

1923 to 1926

Title of the proposed milestone:

The first demonstration of the transmission of live television images. 26th January 1926

Plaque citation summarizing the achievement and its significance:

On the 26th January 1926 in this building at 22 Frith Street, London, the world's first public demonstration of live television was given to members of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, by John Logie Baird, inventor and entrepreneur.

200-250 word abstract describing the significance of the technical achievement being proposed, the person(s) involved, historical context, humanitarian and social impact, as well as any possible controversies the advocate might need to review.

IEEE technical societies and technical councils within whose fields of interest the Milestone proposal resides.

In what IEEE section(s) does it reside?

United Kingdom and Ireland Section

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) which have agreed to sponsor the Milestone:

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) paying for milestone plaque(s):

Unit: United Kingdom and Ireland Section
Senior Officer Name: Professor Ali Hessaami (Chair)

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) arranging the dedication ceremony:

Unit: UK & I Section Life Member Affinity Group
Senior Officer Name: Charles Turner

IEEE section(s) monitoring the plaque(s):

IEEE Section: UK & I
IEEE Section Chair name: Ali Hessami

Milestone proposer(s):

Proposer name: Charles Turner
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Please note: your email address and contact information will be masked on the website for privacy reasons. Only IEEE History Center Staff will be able to view the email address.

Street address(es) and GPS coordinates in decimal form of the intended milestone plaque site(s):

22 Frith Street, London W1D 4RF England, UK

GPS Coordinates 51.514N, 0.126W

Describe briefly the intended site(s) of the milestone plaque(s). The intended site(s) must have a direct connection with the achievement (e.g. where developed, invented, tested, demonstrated, installed, or operated, etc.). A museum where a device or example of the technology is displayed, or the university where the inventor studied, are not, in themselves, sufficient connection for a milestone plaque.

Please give the address(es) of the plaque site(s) (GPS coordinates if you have them). Also please give the details of the mounting, i.e. on the outside of the building, in the ground floor entrance hall, on a plinth on the grounds, etc. If visitors to the plaque site will need to go through security, or make an appointment, please give the contact information visitors will need. 22 Frith Street London W1D 4RF

Are the original buildings extant?

The building at 22 Frith Street was built over 100 years ago and is in the Soho conservation (i.e. protected status) district

Details of the plaque mounting:

The Milestone plaque would be mounted securely on the front wall of the building in full public view, at about First Floor level.

How is the site protected/secured, and in what ways is it accessible to the public?

The plaque would be readily visible, 24/7, to pedestrians visiting the Bar-Italia or just in passing by.

Who is the present owner of the site(s)?

Mr Antonio Polledri, owner and principal of Bar-Italia restaurant.

What is the historical significance of the work (its technological, scientific, or social importance)? If personal names are included in citation, include justification here. (see section 6 of Milestone Guidelines)

See attached document A

What obstacles (technical, political, geographic) needed to be overcome?

See attached document B

What features set this work apart from similar achievements?

See attached document C

Supporting texts and citations to establish the dates, location, and importance of the achievement: Minimum of five (5), but as many as needed to support the milestone, such as patents, contemporary newspaper articles, journal articles, or chapters in scholarly books. 'Scholarly' is defined as peer-reviewed, with references, and published. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. At least one of the references must be from a scholarly book or journal article. All supporting materials must be in English, or accompanied by an English translation.

See attached document D

Supporting materials (supported formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOC): All supporting materials must be in English, or if not in English, accompanied by an English translation. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. For documents that are copyright-encumbered, or which you do not have rights to post, email the documents themselves to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please see the Milestone Program Guidelines for more information.

See attached document E

Please email a jpeg or PDF a letter in English, or with English translation, from the site owner(s) giving permission to place IEEE milestone plaque on the property, and a letter (or forwarded email) from the appropriate Section Chair supporting the Milestone application to ieee-history@ieee.org with the subject line "Attention: Milestone Administrator." Note that there are multiple texts of the letter depending on whether an IEEE organizational unit other than the section will be paying for the plaque(s).

Please recommend reviewers by emailing their names and email addresses to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please include the docket number and brief title of your proposal in the subject line of all emails.