Philo Taylor Farnsworth, born August 19, 1906
 in Indian Springs, Utah
 to Lewis Edwin and
Serena Bastian Farnsworth

Born 8 - 19 - 1906

  

The struggle for survival
was a harsh reality
of the new frontier

 Life started as it did for most kids of the pioneer West: humble and strenuous. The struggle for survival was a harsh reality of the new frontier and few could escape this unrelenting taskmaster. While young Philo’s father was skilled in the arts of survival, he often had to chase down what few opportunities presented themselves: it went with the territory.  

Needless to say, in those days one grew up with a well-developed sense of hard work as an antidote for nature’s darker sides, or one might not grow up at all.  Philo, the oldest of the clan (at home) pulled not only his weight, but helped with the younger siblings in the family. 

School was considered to be mandatory and in the winter it provided the added  challenge: getting there. While Philo was a good older brother and a valued asset to his father, he was only an average student. This was a first-things-first existence, and average grades with good attendance sometimes meant grit and frostbite.

...one grew up with a well-developed sense of work as an antidote for nature’s darker sides,
or
one might not grow up at all.

 

...he was free of the
stereotypical traits of genius.

 There were no billboards distinguishing this boy as a future, major player in technology; in fact he was nearly free of the stereotypical traits of genius. Perhaps they were there and just didn’t show up against the stark landscape of this harsh and impatient Western frontier.  

As Philo neared his teenage years he took more and more notice of what were amazing machines in those days: things like the telephone. On one occasion Philo listened in awe; he knew his Aunt was half a state away, yet she talked in his ear as if she were in the same room. This encounter left Philo enthused and full of questions; his father took him aside and explained that the telephone, and other things like light bulbs, were creations of people who dedicated their lives to such innovations, and that they were "inventors." Philo decided that an inventor was a pretty good thing to be. He began looking around and noting all the needs that inventions of various kinds could meet.
This way of reacting to many of life’s situations would continue the rest of his life.

Philo decided that
an inventor was
a pretty good thing to be.

  

Philo discovered a
cache of science
magazines in the attic
of an old farmhouse

 After a move to Idaho to sharecrop a farm, Philo discovered a cache of science magazines in the attic of the old farmhouse where the family now took up residence - this was like manna from heaven for young Philo. It was in these magazines that Philo read about television.  Sending pictures through the air was a fantastic notion. Television started as a pleasant diversion for a dreamer, and grew into an intensifying mental exercise within Philo’s imagination.  

In these magazines, Philo read of an almost fictional particle which was invisible to the eye; it was nonetheless miraculous: 
the electron

Television grew into an intensifying mental exercise

  

Contemplation about such
things centered Philo
and changed his life.

Using a mechanical means for capturing and replaying an image over a distance seemed a bit unrealistic to Philo; however, this electron with its relative freedom from inertia, (and unseen possibilities beyond comprehension,)  filled all the necessary requirements for his intense mental consideration. This he did with great energy. Contemplation about such things centered Philo and changed his life, by high school this quest for knowledge would turn Philo into a model student with insatiable needs for insights into the physical nature of all things.  

In the beginning of his
twenty-first year, his mind and five pairs of hands caused a highly evacuated, glass tube to flicker with an eerie light.
Then just a simple line. Phosphorescent proof of trained electrons jumping through his hoop, and the first of rapid fire innovations which became the device we now recognize as modern television

...his mind and five pairs
of hands caused a
highly evacuated, glass
tube to flicker
with an eerie light.

  

you might look
up a copy of
DISTANT VISION

 To finish answering the question of "who was he?" you might look up a copy of DISTANT VISION and read a compelling effort by his widow, Elma G. "Pem" Farnsworth, to capture this elegant human’s essence. Pem distinguishes herself as a biographer; she was her husband’s early lab assistant, 'spent her life by his side, and has amazed all with her 15 year undertaking to write this all down.  Go here for a list of books.