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A mother of television dies

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi

Elma "Pem" Gardner Farnsworth, an inventor and the first woman to appear on television, died Wednesday. She was the wife of the late Philo Farnsworth, the original inventor of the modern electric television, the Associated Press reports.

Philo Farnsworth had maintained that his wife should share equal credit for the invention that the two developed and first tested in his San Francisco laboratory on Sept. 7, 1927. They transmitted the first human images, those of Elma Farnsworth and her brother, on Oct. 19, 1929.

In the 1930s, Elma Farnsworth fought alongside her husband against RCA's claim that one of its engineers invented the TV. The courts ruled in Philo Farnsworth's favor, upholding his patent, but cultural recognition was slow to come. Elma Farnsworth continually fought for her husband's place in history, even after his death.

Philo Farnsworth, through his wife's campaigns, was eventually credited for his invention. He is honored with a U.S. postage stamp and a statue in the U.S. Capitol inscribed: "Philo Taylor Farnsworth: Inventor of Television." In 2002 Elma Farnsworth attended on her husband's behalf when he was honored posthumously at the 2002 Emmy Awards.

Elma Farnsworth is survived by two of her four sons. She was 98.