People of the Palace
150 Years

[Picture of Isaac Shoenberg]

1936
Sir Isaac Shoenberg:
TV Pioneer

Whilst there was no one inventor of television it was Sir Isaac Shoenberg’s scientific confidence and commitment to his team which created an environment where television as we know it was born.
Proven at the Palace in a showdown with the Baird Television Company from November 1936, the Marconi-EMI system was adopted by the BBC for the world’s first public television service.

The sign is one of a series installed to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of Alexandra Palace (1873).
The signs commemorate individuals who left their mark on the site.
Since part of the palace was leased to the BBC in 1935, which built a transmission tower there Click for sign's details, this particular sign commemorates the Belarus-born engineer Isaac Shoenberg (1880–1963), who led the team that developed the “405-line” television broadcasting system – the first public television transmission standard.

The location of the sign was photographed on the same day (with the transmission tower in the background) Click for a larger image
as well as the main building of Alexandra Palace Click for a larger image.