Charles Jenkins American inventor, one of the founders of cinema and television. Date of Birth: 22.08.1867 Country: USA

1. American Inventor Charles Jenkins
2. Early Experiments and the Fantoscope
3. Collaboration with Thomas Armat and the Vitascope
4. Focus on Television
5. Jenkins Television Corporation and Legacy

American Inventor Charles Jenkins

Charles Jenkins was an American inventor and one of the pioneers of cinematography and television. He was born in Dayton, Ohio and grew up near Richmond, Indiana. After finishing school, Jenkins moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked as a stenographer for some time.

Early Experiments and the Fantoscope

Jenkins began experimenting with motion pictures as early as 1891. Eventually, he decided to quit his job and fully concentrate on creating his own film projector, known as the "fantoscope". On June 6, 1894, Jenkins returned to Richmond to demonstrate the fruits of his two years of work - a new film projector. He showcased the projector using a film he made himself, which became the first "roll" film shown using electric light and the first color film. Coloring the film required a lot of effort as every frame had to be hand-painted.

Collaboration with Thomas Armat and the Vitascope

While in Washington, Jenkins met his classmate Thomas Armat, and together they significantly improved and enhanced Jenkins' original projector model. In 1895, the partners organized a public demonstration of their invention. However, Charles and Thomas had a falling out over copyright issues. On July 20, 1897, the "fantoscope" was patented. Jenkins later sold his share in the project to Armat, who then sold the invention to Thomas Edison, who modified and used it for paid movie screenings under the name "vitascope".

Focus on Television

Jenkins shifted his focus to television. In 1913, he published an article on wireless transmission of moving pictures. However, it wasn't until 1923 that he was able to put his idea into practice. In 1925, Jenkins demonstrated the transmission of sound and images over a distance and obtained a patent for his invention. Unfortunately, his mechanical-based image transmission system was eventually replaced by electronic models developed by Zworykin and Farnsworth.

Jenkins Television Corporation and Legacy

In 1928, the "Jenkins Television Corporation" launched the country's first broadcast television station called W3XK. Initially, the transmitted image was unclear, but over time, the channel's bandwidth was expanded, greatly improving image quality. In March 1932, Jenkins' company was liquidated, and its resources were acquired by the "Lee DeForest Radio Corporation". Later, both "Lee DeForest" and Jenkins' company went bankrupt, and the RCA representatives took over the station, eventually discontinuing all work on electromechanical television.

Charles Jenkins received numerous accolades for his scientific achievements. In 1897, he was awarded the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, and in 1913, he received the Scott Medal from the Franklin Institute & Science Museum in Philadelphia. In 2011, Charles Jenkins was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The prestigious Emmy Award, presented by The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, is also named after him.

Charles Jenkins passed away in Washington, D.C. on June 6, 1934, at the age of 66.