Allen B. DuMont

Allen B. DuMont

Allen Balcom DuMont (January 29, 1901 – November 14, 1965) also spelled Du Mont, was an American scientist and inventor best known for improvements to the cathode ray tube in 1931 for use in television receivers. Seven years later he manufactured and sold the first commercially practical television set to the public. In June 1938, his Model 180 television receiver was the first all-electronic television set ever sold to the public, a few months prior to RCA's first set in April 1939. In 1946, DuMont founded the first television network to be licensed, the DuMont Television Network, initially by linking station WABD (named for DuMont) in New York City to station W3XWT, which later became WTTG, in Washington, D.C. (WTTG was named for Dr. Thomas T. Goldsmith, DuMont's Vice President of Research, and his best friend.)