Philo T. Farnsworth, Inventor of the Television & Musician: Preparing for Your First Day of School: Madeline’s Monthly Musical Tips Blog/Article & Radio Show for August 2025
Our blog/article and Radio Show celebrates the life and work of Philo Taylor Farnsworth, American scientist, inventor of the television and musician.
To prepare for your new school year we have included Nationally known expert teachers, Drs. Harry and Rosemary Wong’s Procedures, and their First Day of School Scripts. Also included are Dr. Frank’s, “10 Creative Ways to Inspire Students & Curb Teachers Burn Out!” and Mrs. Becky Jenkins Irons, our Radio Shows 2016 Teacher of the Year Award winner, a fourth-grade teacher, shares how she prepared for her first day of the new school year.
The beginning of the new school year is a new opportunity for students to begin studying a musical instrument. Studying a musical instrument teaches students to concentrate, be focused, be discipline, gives them self-esteem, teaches cooperation and working with others.
Many of the world’s inventors, engineers, mathematicians, scientists, researchers, authors, medical doctors, and teachers have studied and played musical instruments since they were children. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process. Studying a musical instrument develops millions of new connections, synapses, between nerve cells in the brain.
Our article of the month is “Keys to Survival During Times of Financial Stress” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D.
Radio Show Feature Question for August 2025:
How did classical music play a part of Philo T. Farnsworth’s life as the inventor of the Television and musician and what musical instrument did he play?
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/one-minute-musical-radio-show/
Early years:
Philo Taylor Farnsworth was born on August 19, 1906, in Beaver, Utah in a log cabin to Lewis Edwin Farnsworth and Serena Amanda Bastian Farnsworth, a Latter -day Saint couple. He was the oldest of their five children. In their log cabin there was no indoor plumbing or electricity.
At a young age Philo began to study the violin. He enjoyed taking apart things to see how they worked. His heroes were inventors Bell and Edison. At school he “fended off bullies”. He was a voracious reader of science books and science magazines.
When he was 12, his family moved to a relative’s ranch near Rigby, Idaho. Their “new home was wired for electricity, with a Delco generator providing power for lighting and farm machinery.” After his first telephone conversation with a distant relative, he became interested in electronics. In the attic of the ranch he found science magazines.
When the generator stopped working Philo repaired the generator after studying the electrical technology. (PhiloFarnsworth.com) (JamesPaterson.com/ the boy who invented TV Philo Farnsworth)
Philo’s first inventions: Philo found a burned-out motor, discarded by the prior tenant, and repaired the set of windings of the electrical motor and attached it to the family’s hand cranked washing machine to turn it into an electric powered washing machine.
He “won a magazine contest for his invention of an ignition lock that would make the new Model T Ford hard to steal.”
His greatest invention, the Television: When Philo was plowing the family’s potato fields at age 14, he saw the trenches made by the plow, the furrows, as “a way to transmit parallel lines of light as electrons, which he called “capturing light in a bottle.” This was his conception of his invention of the Television.
At Rigby High School “he excelled at chemistry and physics. He asked his science teacher, Justin Tolman, for advice about an electronic television system that he was working on. He provided his teacher with sketches and diagrams that covered several blackboards to show how it might be accomplished electronically, and Tolman encouraged him to develop his ideas. Later one of these drawings was recalled and reproduced for a patent interference case between Farnsworth and RCA.” (PhiloFarnsworth.com) (JamesPaterson.com/ the boy who invented TV Philo Farnsworth)
Navy and University:
After being in the Navy and “at Brigham Young University, Farnsworth delivered radios and made electrical repairs. In 1926, philanthropists George Everson and Fes Gorrell invested $6,000 and lured Farnsworth to Los Angeles. He decided to go, but made a momentous decision prior to leaving — he asked Pem’s father for his daughter’s hand. “I can see you need Pem more than we do,” her father said.
“About a year earlier, Elma, called Pem, asked her best friend Agnes Farnsworth to introduce her to Agnes’ brother Philo. Pem was still in high school but Phil, who had dropped the “o” in his name by now, was a year older and a college man. She said, “She was attracted by his energy. He was so full of life and he had very penetrating deep blue eyes.”
“As the saying goes, they made beautiful music together…Phil played violin and Pem played piano. He wooed her on long horseback rides and told her his dreams.”
On Pem’s 18th birthday, February 25th 1926, Phil proposed marriage. “Along with a diamond pear shaped ring, Phil gave Pem the sheet music for their favorite song, “Always” with a note that said “Irving Berlin could say it so much better than me.” (The History of TV.com)
Philo Farnsworth and Elma “Pem” Gardner married on May 27, 1926. (Wikipedia Philo T. Farnsworth)
Philo Farnsworth in 1927 “invented the first electronic video camera and cathode ray tube to display images from the video camera. This led to early technology for infrared detection and imaging.” (usautoindustryworldwarwo.com/Farnsworth.htm)
“Farnsworth built everything from scratch, starting with the first workable camera tube, the Image Dissector, which created an electrical counterpart to the image. “The most difficult part of the equation was getting a high-resolution signal,” says Paul Schatzkin, author of “The Boy Who Invented Television”.
“He enlisted Pem’s help in achieving his dream: She said, “He saw countries being able to see what the other country is like. They could settle their differences over a conference table rather than on the battlefield. And he saw it as a big educational tool, and also for entertainment.”
In 1926, they moved to Hollywood to set up a home laboratory. “Pem did everything, from record keeping to welding.”
Moving to San Francisco, with a $25,000 loan from Crocker Bank, “Farnsworth recruited Pem’s brother, Cliff Gardner, to learn glass blowing, to make the tubes. On Sept. 7, 1927 with the camera in one room, they viewed the first grainy image — a straight line — on a receiver in another. Pem, “I was dancing around. I knew from his shaking hands [Philo] was emotionally impacted. But he said, ‘Well, there you’ve got television.” In 1930, “Farnsworth received the first of more than 165 American patents he would be granted governing television.”
“Meanwhile, RCA’s David Sarnoff knew electronic television was the next frontier, but RCA wasn’t researching it. The Radio Corporation does not pay patent royalties, we collect them,” Sarnoff declared. He recruited Westinghouse engineer Vladimir Zworykin, who had patented his own camera tube, the Iconoscope, in 1923, which was not successfully demonstrated. By 1930, Westinghouse had lost interest in Zworykin’s research.”
“But Sarnoff was interested, so he dispatched Zworykin to San Francisco to see what Farnsworth was up to. Farnsworth, hoping Westinghouse would license his technology, gave Zworykin free rein for three days. At one point, Zworykin held the Image Dissector Tube. Legend records that, holding it, he said, “This is a beautiful instrument. I wish I had invented it.”
“They demonstrated how to make tubes with flat glass adhered to one end, something that differed from Zworykin’s earlier patents.”
Cliff Gardener, Philo Farnsworth’s brother in law said, “We did not know it couldn’t be done, so we just went ahead and did it.”
“Zworykin telegrammed Westinghouse with instructions. He returned to Farnsworth’s lab, long enough to pick up the tube, and then promptly went to work for RCA in Camden, New Jersey. Within three years Zworykin claimed a new Iconoscope patent he filed for was identical to the one he had patented in 1923.”
RCA meanwhile,” tried to buy Farnsworth’s company, for $100,000, but he refused; RCA then attempted to develop patents that worked around Farnsworth’s patents.”
Farnsworth in 1931, “moved his team to Philadelphia, after Philco Radio agreed to license his technology. RCA’s Camden operations were just across the Delaware River, so the competing teams intercepted each other’s broadcasts. But thearrangement wouldn’t last long. Farnsworth, grieving over the death of his thirteen-month-old son Kenny, from strep throat soon left Philco to form his own company. He later invented a baby incubator.” (televisionacademy.com)
In 1934, Philo Farnsworth demonstrated TV at the Franklin Institute to the public. “People waited for hours for a glimpse of the 12-by-12-inch screen. Farnsworth aired ventriloquists, animal acts, and a cellist who stopped playing when the hot lights blistered his instrument’s finish. Audiences were mesmerized. “It was magic,” Pem recalled.
“That year an intense patent dispute between Farnsworth and RCA began. RCA questioned that Farnsworth was fourteen when he got the idea. But after Farnsworth’s teacher, Tolman, produced the teen’s 1922 diagram, the judge ruled for the inventor. However, litigation between RCA and Farnsworth continued and was protracted.”
Farnsworth in 1935, “created an experimental station, W3XPF, in Philadelphia, scouring the landscape for talent. Few people owned televisions; there were no broadcast standards. But there were early stars: Baby Delores, a four-year-old singer, and Smiles Blum, age eleven, a.k.a. “Little Miss Television.” Mary Pickford briefly appeared on camera under the hot lights. “Phew, this is hotter than color,” she said.
RCA in 1939, “agreed to buy a license from Farnsworth, who received a $1 million down payment. In April, at the New York World’s Fair, Sarnoff “introduced” television to the world. “And now we add sight to sound,” he declared.” (televisionacademy.com /Philo T Farnsworth)
During World War II, “Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation produced war products: “BC-342 series shortwave communications receiver is the product that is most identifiable with Farnsworth during World War Two. It was the two BC-342s I found in museums that led to this webpage. Farnsworth also built the BC-312 radio receiver for the U.S. Signal Corps. Farnsworth was the exclusive manufacturer of this receiver during World War Two.”
“The BC-342 was just one of many pieces of electronic equipment Farnsworth built for both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy placed six orders to the company for “Sound Signal Apparatus,” which was most likely sonar equipment to detect enemy submarines. The Navy also had two orders for vacuum tubes, which is the only historical reference to the company building this type of product. Between its two plants, Farnsworth provided $125,356,000 worth of electronic equipment needed to win World War Two.” (usautoindustryworldwarwo.com/Farnsworth.htm)
Farnsworth in 1949, “sold his company to International Telephone and Telegraph. There were two main reasons for this. Farnsworth took out many loans to expand electronic equipment production for the war effort. Then the company had difficulty repaying these loans. That problem might have been solvable, but Philo Farnsworth was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted after years of legal battles with RCA over patent infringement. RCA was the 800 pound gorilla in the electronics industry at the time, and its chairman David Sarnoff would go to any lengths to make sure it stayed that way.” (usautoindustryworldwarwo.com/Farnsworth.htm)
Philo Farnsworth “commercially produced and sold a fully functioning television system, complete with receiver and camera—which he produced commercially through the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation from 1938 to 1951, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.” (Wikipedia Philo Farnsworth)
Researching Nuclear Fusion: Farnsworth began researching nuclear fusion. “He was so deep into quantum forces and particles that he was unraveling the mysteries of the universe,” said Paul Schatzkin author of The Boy Who Invented Television.)
Philo Farnsworth developed a “fusor,” fusion reaction tube, he hoped would provide clean and unlimited energy. He even spoke by phone with Albert Einstein, who encouraged him to publish his findings.”
Other Inventions of Philo T Farnsworth:
- Radar
- Shortwave radios
- Gastroscope
- Sterilize milk using radio waves.
- Infra-red night vision
- Baby incubator
- Farnsworth Fusor-practical neutron source.
- Electron microscope
- Astronomical telescope
- Farnsworth Fuser 1964.
- Fog penetrating beam for ships and airplanes.
TV appearance on I’ve Got A Secret. Host Garry Moore: “Philo T. Farnsworth never became a household name. On July 3, 1957, he made his only national TV appearance, on I’ve Got A Secret. Host Garry Moore introduced the reed-thin inventor as “Dr. X ” and Farnsworth ended up stumping the panel. Moore said, “Unfortunately, television being what it is, it’s your baby and we’re out of time. So, here are your Winstons, sir, the money that you won, and our eternal gratitude. I’d be out of work if it weren’t for you.”
Pem Gardner Farnsworth “nurtured Philo Farnsworth’s legacy. “The Postal Service issued a stamp dedicated to him, San Francisco installed a plaque commemorating the 1927 transmission, and his statue stands in the U.S. Capitol. Television and film writer-producer Aaron Sorkin wrote a play, The Farnsworth Invention.”
Philo Farnsworth “always wanted to travel to space, but the closest he got was watching Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon in 1969 — on television. As Pem recounted, when the camera emerged from the lunar module and Armstrong declared the “giant leap for mankind,” Phil turned to her: “Pem, this has made it all worthwhile.” (Philo T. Farnsworth: Hall of Fame Tribute/Television Academy)
Philo Farnsworth died March 11, 1971 of pneumonia at the age of 64 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Philo T Farnsworth was a scientist, inventor of the Television, husband, father, and lifelong musician.
Preparing for Your First Day of School:
Dr. Harry Wong says, “The very first day, the very first minute, the very first second of school, teachers should begin to structure and organize their classrooms, to establish procedures and routines.”
Dr. Rosemary Wong was asked to “give an example of what you mean by procedures?” She responded, “if you could close your eyes and say to yourself, “This is something I’d like to have happen in my classroom,.. then you need to come up with a procedure for it. You need to teach the procedure, and there are three basic steps to doing that. The first is to explain it. The second step is rehearsing it, physically going through the procedure and making corrections as needed. And the third is reinforcing it, which you can do by acknowledging that the procedure is being carried out correctly.” Remember to teach all “three steps”.
The Wong’s said, “Classroom procedures should cover every second of the school day including what students are to do as they enter the classroom, how they are to be dismissed, and how they are to label and turn in their homework.”
Drs. Harry and Rosemary Wong said they “start by greeting your students at the classroom door each day. Have “bell work” or short assignments posted on the board prior to the start of each day. Bell work, even if it’s something simple as silent reading gets students into work mode right away. Posting a daily agenda every day in the same place every day, eliminating questions.”
What procedure do the Wong’s use to quiet their classes?
In their book the technique is called ‘Give Me Five’. “1) Eyes on Speaker, 2) Quiet, 3) Be still, 4) Hands free, 5) Listen. In five seconds, the class is quiet.”
Preparing for Your First Day of School:
Drs. Harry & Rosemary Wong’s “First Day of School Scripts”:
https://www.teachers.net/wong/JUN00/
“Middle School Script”:
http://teachers.net/wong/FEB02/
“High School Script”:
http://teachers.net/wong/MAR03/page_2.html
Effective teaching:
https://www.teachers.net/wong/MAY11/
Dr. Frank’s, “10 Creative Ways to Inspire Students & Curb Teachers Burn Out!”
- 1) Effective teachers and administrators agree to have“an assignment on the board” for students to start on the second they walk into the new classroom.
“A well-planned lesson eliminates 90% of discipline problems.”–
“Before your first day of school have your “First Day of School Script” ready with the “Procedures” you will use for your class and implement them by rehearsing your class until all the students know your procedures and understand them.
*For example: What is your procedure for students having a cell phone in class? -In your “Procedures” include Mrs. Hamilton’s definition of “Character”. “Character is knowing the right thing to do, doing the right thing even when no one is watching, and taking the consequences for what you do. The first step to develop character from the First Day of School is to teach that definition, and challenge students to build walls of character around themselves in the weeks ahead.”
- Remember to decide your procedures and teach them to your class on the first day of school. Harry K. Wong and Dr. Rosemary Wong’s book “The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher” is a must read for all teachers’.
Have your smile in place, your student’s seat assignments ready and your first assignment on the board for the students to get started immediately after sitting down and have your classical music , Mozart Symphony or string music by Baroque composer J. S. Bach (slow movement with strings) on in the background of your classroom.
School starts the first minute the students enter for the new school year.
Be prepared! Start preparing and rehearsing this summer.
Remember students need to feel safe and secure! They need procedures.
2) Before the first day of school decide how you are to dress for success in bright colors to get your students attention. Remember first impressions are the most important.
3) Do you remember the middle school and high school Chemistry and Math teachers playing Classical Mozart Symphonies in the background of their classes and how much better behaved and smarter the students became? Well you can do this too! Put on your Classical music and help your students get smarter, work faster, and calmer.
4) Don’t just lecture tell a story. Make the material visual.
Be creative by becoming a teaching artist! Example: Dr. Madeline Frank’s “Musical Notes On Math”, teaching fractions and decimals to children in K-5 through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent-to-Parent Adding Wisdom Award newly updated kindle edition.
https://madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math
5) Make your course come alive. Make it fun to learn.
Remember that Alicia Keys and Dr. Condoleezza Rice both studied the piano learning Classical music and skipping grades in high school. They were both at the top of their high school classes all through school because they played Classical music every day. Playing Classical music made them smarter! Dr. Albert Einstein was able to win his Noble Peace Prize and make his scientific discoveries by playing Classical music on his violin or piano every day. Dr. Judith Resnik astronaut and electrical engineer made perfect scores on her SAT’s through playing her Classical piano music every day for one hour. Louis Armstrong learned Classical music on his cornet at age 13 and his life was changed forever! Your students can be smarter too by playing Classical music every day!
6) Involve your students in your course by posing a problem and helping them solve it! Make them into detectives. (Sherlock Holmes and his side kick Dr. Watson) Help your students work cooperatively. (In a musical String Quartet, members work together cooperatively with set goals and without violence.) Put on your Classical music to help your students concentrate better.
Mark Reimer & Mrs. Adlyn Reimer said to “Set the tone from the beginning—your class/rehearsal style is fun, informative, and fast moving, and everyone there is important to you.”
7) Help your students gain self-esteem and self-worth by showing them kindness & patience.
8) Romayne Leader Frank, Mother, friend, Family Advocate, teacher, & Lawyer, always said, “Every child has one gift.” Find that gift and accentuate it!
9) Dr. Frank’s favorite saying is “every student is a gem in the raw.” Start with that thought and work with your students. Believe that each of your students, on the first day of school, wants to learn your course and desires to learn.
10) Does anyone here like to work? No, then make it fun to learn. Put on your Classical music or Baroque music string music! © 2025, 2024 Madeline Frank
Remember on your First Day To: Have your Classical music/ Mozart Symphonies on your CD or iPod before your students enter your class to improve their concentration, for them to stay focused, relaxed, work faster, and remember more. On your first day of school have your “First Day of School Script” ready and rehearsed. “Have your “bell work” or short assignments posted on the board prior to the start of each day and post a daily agenda every day in the same place.” Be prepared! Have a smile on your face and put your best foot forward!
Students: Classical music has the power to organize the brain while listening to it as background music while you are doing your homework, to help you relax after a hard day of work or while doing exercises. Begin listening or playing your musical instrument for 30 minutes at a time. It helps because of its highly developed mathematics, complex rhythm, and therefore exercises the brain as physical exercise exercises the body.
Mrs. Becky Jenkins Irons, our Radio Shows 2016 Teacher of the Year Award winner, a fourth-grade teacher, shares below how she prepared and worked with her students during her August-December public school classes.”
1) Mrs. Irons began preparing for her new students, a month before the semester began, by studying their files, to more effectively deal with their problems.
2) On the very first day of school, students were informed about procedures and practiced them.
3) Mrs. Irons dressed appropriately and at times dressed to reflect the theme of the lesson or story.
4) Mrs. Irons prepared daily so that time was spent on learning activities and not preparation during school time.
5) She encourages her students to do well and gives examples that students can relate to of why it is important to do well and stay in school.
6) Students know that Mrs. Irons take’s an interest in them and tries to see the good in each student and looks for positive things to say about her students.
7) Classical music is played. This helps students quiet down, stay calm, and focus more on their work with fewer distractions. They really enjoy the Classical music and ask for it.
8) Students are spoken to in private, concerning behavioral issues and are not embarrassed in front of other students.
9) Cooperative learning groups and differentiation are used in the classroom. Students get to be a part of completing tasks successfully as a group in a fun but challenging atmosphere.
10) Articulation, inflection, and timing are encouraged when reading and when learning key phrases and clues.
Mrs. Irons says, “That by using Dr. Frank’s tips, a classroom environment is created where students want to come to school. They enjoy learning, and every child finds a measure of success.”
Keys to Survival During Times of Financial Stress by Dr. Madeline Frank
If your spouse passed away would you be able to pay your bills? If you were divorced would you be able to pay your bills and take care of your family? If your parents passed away would you be able to pay your bills?
Are you getting married soon? Several of my former students have just gotten married and next month another former student will be marrying his sweetheart. Whether you are single, married, divorced, or your spouse has passed away you need a plan in place for your financial future to protect you and your family.
When I was engaged to be married, my Momma, Romayne Leader Frank, a lawyer specializing in Family Law and Real Estate, was getting ready to give a speech to the local Women’s Club on “Financial Success”. Mamma had clients who were widowers, widowed, divorced, and single who suddenly had no money or credit in their own name. The credit card and bank accounts were in their deceased spouses name, their divorced spouses name or in their parent’s name which meant they did not have any money or credit in their own name and were unable to pay their bills and take care of themselves and their families.
My Momma asked me to listen to her speech to see what I thought of it! Momma spoke of the need for women to have credit in their own name, not in their spouse’s name, their former spouse’s name or their parents name but in their own name.
On that particular day Momma was talking to the Women’s Club. When she spoke to other organizations she said “Everyone, meaning both men and women, should always have their own separate checking, savings and credit card accounts in their own name so they would never find themselves without a way to support themselves and their loved ones.
I have over the years called our families’ accounts yours, mine and ours. The same name as the Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda Movie “Yours, Mine and Ours.” In the movie the title referred to children though not to money. Over the years, I have shared my Momma’s wisdom with many others. Her speech was well received by me and the Women’s Club and has stood the test of time.
What are the secrets my Momma, Romayne Leader Frank taught for women and men to be financially independent?
1) Open a bank account in your name at a secure bank that is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and start immediately to put your money in it for your nest egg.
2) Open a checking account in your own name and put your money in it.
3) Get an American Express and or Visa Card at a very low interest rate in your own name and begin to use it immediately and pay your bill as soon as the statement comes in to establish your credit.
4) If you buy a house make sure your name is on the title and before purchasing your house have a professional title search done to make sure there are no liens or prior owners of the house.
5) If you are paying a mortgage on your house pay the bill on time. If the interest is too high, talk to the holder of your mortgage and get it moved down. Always get a fixed mortgage rate.
6) If you buy a car make sure the title is in your name. If you are paying the car off each month pay the monthly charge on time. If the mortgage on the car is too high, talk to the mortgage company into lowering the rate. Make sure you have a locked in fixed rate. ©2025, 2024, 2010 Madeline Frank
If you need a speaker/ video speaker contact Madeline at: [email protected]
Dr. Madeline Frank’s book “Leadership on a Shoestring Budget: Timeless Principles for Everyday Use, helps businesses stay afloat in times of trouble. She calls her innovative observations, Tuning Up Your Business. For over 25 years she has helped countless people create their great image brand, and communication style that makes them irresistible. Click on the following Amazon.com link to order your copy of “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget”
“The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” shares scientific evidence, medical evidence, test results, and true stories of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians who have studied and played musical instruments since they were children by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. Click below:
- com(Kindle)
- Barnes and Noble(Nook)
- iTunes
“Madeline’s Midnight Melodies- Music From around the World”. This CD complements her books with a blend of dance music, gigues, tangos, ballet and favorites including “Danny Boy”, Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro”, Debussy’s “Claire De Lune” and others. “Madeline’s Midnight Melodies” CD is now available for purchase by downloading a song, downloading the album click below:
“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun easy way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award is available in book form, newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook.:
- com(Kindle)
- Barnes and Noble(Nook)
- iTunes
Wishing you and your family a happy month of August from your Non-Invasive Medicine…Music Expert, Madeline
For over 30 years, Dr. Madeline Frank has helped children and adults overcome problems through Classical music. Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM is an award-winning teacher, author, researcher, speaker, conductor, and concert artist. She has discovered a scientific link between studying a musical instrument and academic and societal success. Madeline Frank earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Her education has included scholarships at the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati and she has a violin performance diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts. (C) 2025 Madeline Frank