New Google Doodle Marks the 90th Anniversary of Television

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We may live in an era of streaming, portable devices and virtual reality, but Google used its latest Doodle to celebrate the humble television.

The Doodle marks the 90th anniversary of the first public demonstration of the mechanical television. On Jan. 26, 1926, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird transmitted a moving image of his business partner’s face onto a screen, according to the Telegraph.

The image was blurred and measured only 3.5 by 2 in. (8.8 by 5 cm) but made history as the first live public broadcast.

In a 1926 review of the “televisor,” as the device was known, TIME praised Baird’s devise for permitting “looking in as well as listening in.” Broadcasting for the receiver, which was priced at £30, was set “to begin at once.”

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Write to Mark Rivett-Carnac at mark.rivett-carnac@timeasia.com