Eugene Polley, the man who invented the first wireless remote control for television in 1955, has died at the age of 96.

His long-time employer Zenith Electronics - a subsidiary of South Korea's LG Electronics formerly known as Zenith Radio Corporation - said Mr Polley died of natural causes in Chicago on Sunday.

Mr Polley joined Zenith Radio in 1935.

His 18 patented inventions included the Flash-Matic remote control, a flashlight-like device that could turn a television set on and off and change channels as well.

It functioned with four photo cells fitted on each corner of the television screen, but it was not without its problems - notably on sunny days - and it was succeeded by the ultrasonic Zenith Space Command in 1960.

During World War II Mr Polley worked at Zenith on US military radar systems.

Later he helped to develop push-button car radios as well as video disks, the predecessor of today's DVDs.

He shared an Emmy award in 1997 with Space Command inventor Robert Adler for pioneering wireless remote control devices for consumer television.

Mr Polley was predeceased by his wife and a daughter. He is survived by his son and grandson, who live in San Diego, California.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

Interesting. Thanks for that bit of info, OF. I was not familar with Mr. Polley or his contributions to science.

Rumor has it that they only thought he was dead; once they opened the hatch & gave the batteries a spin, he was good for a few more clicks.











I know, I know...

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Plug me into somethin'

If the theory does not conform to the facts, then the facts must be discarded.

No good deed ever goes unpunished

Never argue with an idiot. He'll drag you down to his level, & beat you with experience.

^^^



I did hear that he was the 'remote' inventor and had passed but didn't know the extent of his work.

Thanks OF

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