Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr.


Goldsmith in 1984

Born: Thomas Toliver Goldsmith Jr.; January 9, 1910; Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Died: March 5, 2009 (aged 99); Lacey, Washington, U.S.
Alma mater: Cornell University, Furman University
Known for: Cathode-ray tube amusement device {and being the person for whom WTTG is named}

Thomas Toliver Goldsmith Jr. (January 9, 1910 – March 5, 2009) was an American television pioneer, the co-inventor of the cathode-ray tube amusement device, and a professor of physics at Furman University.

Biography

Goldsmith was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on January 9, 1910. His parents were Thomas and Charlotte Goldsmith, a real estate broker and concert pianist respectively. As a teenager, he built crystal radio sets, and continued his interest in engineering as a graduate of Furman University in Greenville. He received his B.S. at Furman University in Greenville in 1931, in physics, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1936 building an oscilloscope for his doctoral research, under the supervision of Dr. Frederick Bidell. After graduating from Cornell, became director of research for DuMont Laboratories in New Jersey, and (after 1953) vice president; he chaired the Synchronization Panel of the National Television System Committee and also the Radio Manufacturers Association Committee on Cathode-Ray Tubes. He also became the chief engineer for the Dumont-affiliated television station WTTG in Washington, DC, now a Fox-owned station, is named for him, with his initials forming the basis of the callsign. In 1966 he left DuMont to become a professor of physics at Furman, and he retired to become an emeritus professor in 1975.

Goldsmith died on March 5, 2009, in Lacey, Washington at the age of 99 due to a hip fracture leading to infection. Goldsmith was married to Helen Wilcox (16 November 1910 - 7 June 2009) before 1940. They raised three children. Helen died three months after her husband.

First arcade game with a CRT

U.S. patent 2,455,992, filed by Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann on January 25, 1947, describes the world's first cathode ray tube based game, the "Cathode-ray tube amusement device". It was inspired by the radar displays used in World War II. Goldsmith and Mann were granted their patent on December 14, 1948, making it the first ever patent for an electronic game. Entitled "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device", the patent describes a game in which a player controls the CRT's electron gun much like an Etch A Sketch. The beam from the gun is focused at a single point on the screen to form a dot representing a missile, and the player tries to control the dot to hit paper targets put on the screen, with all hits detected mechanically. By connecting a cathode ray tube to an oscilloscope and devising knobs that controlled the angle and trajectory of the light traces displayed on the oscilloscope, they were able to invent a missile game that, when using screen overlays, created the effect of firing missiles at various targets. To make the game more challenging, its circuits can alter the player's ability to aim the dot. However, due to the equipment costs and various circumstances, the Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device was never sold. Only handmade prototypes were ever created.

{snip}

Cathode-ray tube amusement device


Circuitry schematic from the patent

Type: Interactive electronic game
Inventor(s): Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr., Estle Ray Mann
Materials: Cathode ray tube, oscilloscope

The cathode-ray tube amusement device is the earliest known interactive electronic game as well as the first game to incorporate an electronic display. The device simulates an artillery shell arcing towards targets on a cathode-ray tube (CRT) screen, which is controlled by the player by adjusting knobs to change the trajectory of a CRT beam spot on the display in order to reach plastic targets overlaid on the screen. Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann constructed the game from analog electronics and filed for a patent in 1947, which was issued the following year. The gaming device was never manufactured or marketed to the public, so it had no effect on the future video game industry. Under many definitions, the device is not considered a video game, as while it had an electronic display it did not run on a computing device. Therefore, despite its relevance to the early history of video games, it is not generally considered a candidate for the title of the first video game.

{snip}