Hovannes Adamian
Hovannes (Ivan) Abgari Adamian (5 February 1879, Baku - 12 September 1932, Leningrad) was an Armenian engineer, an author of more than 20 inventions. The first experimental color television was shown in London in 1928 based on Adamian's tricolor principle,[1] and he is recognized as one of the founders of color television.[2]
Biography
Adamian was born in a family of Armenian merchant and petrol businessman.[3] In 1897 he finished the school in Baku and moved to Europe. He studied at the universities of Zurich and Berlin. He designed systems of black and white, and color television. Developing theoretical works by other co-founders of color television like M. Le Blanc and P. Nipkov, Adamian firstly in the world received practical results on color television and firstly represented color television transfers. The first color television project is claimed by him[4], and was patented in Germany in March 31, 1908, patent № 197183, then in Britain, in April 1, 1908, patent № 7219,[5] in France (patent № 390326) and in Russia in 1910 (patent № 17912).[6]
In 1925 in Yerevan, Adamian has demonstrated "Eristavi", a device for transfer of the color image on distance. Supported by his friends and assistants from Armenia, he succeed to demonstrate on the screen a number of color figures and patterns transferred from the next laboratory.[7]
In 1913 Adamian returned to Saint-Petersburg, Russia, he had several long-time trips to Armenia, died in 1932 in Leningrad and was buried in the local Armenian cemetery. In 1970, his remains were brought to Yereven Pantheon of famous Armenians.
He was known also as a witty caricaturist.
References
- ^ Adamian in Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- ^ A. Rokhlin, Tak rozhdalos' dal'novidenie (in Russian)
- ^ Russes, slaves et soviétiques : pages d'histoire offertes à Roger Portal, Céline Gervais-Francelle, 1992, p. 387
- ^ Western technology and Soviet economic development: 1945 to 1965, by Antony C. Sutton, Business & Economics - 1973, p. 330
- ^ The History of Television, 1880-1941, by Albert Abramson, 1987, p. 27
- ^ A. Rokhlin, Tak rozhdalos' dal'novidenie (in Russian)
- ^ A. Rokhlin, Tak rozhdalos' dal'novidenie (in Russian)