Hovhannes (Ivan) Abgari Adamian (; ; 5 February 1879 – 12 September 1932) was an Armenian and Soviet engineer. He was an author of more than 20 inventions. The first experimental

color television Color television (American English) or colour television (British English) is a television transmission technology that also includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improv ...

, shown in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1928, was based on Adamian's tricolor principle, and he is recognized as one of the founders of

Biography

Adamian was born in a family of an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

merchant and petrol businessman. In 1897, he finished his schooling in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

and moved to Switzerland. He studied at the universities of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He designed systems of black and white, as well as color televisions. Developing theoretical works by other co-founders of color television like M. Le Blanc and P. Nipkov, Adamian was the first in the world to achieve practical results in color television and to carry out color television transfers. The first color television project is claimed by him, and was patented in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on 31 March 1908, patent № 197183, then in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, on 1 April 1908, patent № 7219,The History of Television, 1880-1941, by Albert Abramson, 1987, p. 27 in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(patent № 390326) and in

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in 1910 (patent № 17912). In 1925, in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, Adamian demonstrated "Eristavi", a device for broadcasting color images. Supported by his friends and assistants from Armenia, he succeeded in demonstrating on a screen a number of color figures and patterns transferred from the laboratory next door. In 1913, Adamian returned to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He had several long-term trips to

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

before dying in 1932 in Leningrad. He was buried in the local Armenian cemetery and, in 1970, his remains were brought to

, to the Pantheon of famous Armenians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamian, Hovannes 20th-century Russian engineers 1879 births 1932 deaths Armenian engineers Armenian inventors 20th-century Armenian scientists Soviet engineers Soviet Armenians Soviet scientists Soviet inventors Engineers from Baku People from Baku Governorate Armenian people from the Russian Empire Engineers from the Russian Empire Television pioneers Russian inventors