Television Remote Inventor Eugene Polly Dies

The inventor of the television remote control, Eugene Polley, passed away on Sunday, May 20th 2012 at a Chicago Hospital, aged 96.

Breaking the news, Polley’s employer, Zenith Engineering said the pioneer died of natural causes after having worked for the company for over 47 years, collecting 18 patents during that career.

Before Polley’s invention of the Flash-Matic in 1955, Zenith remotes were connected to the television set via a wire cord. The Flash-Matic changed that by pointing a beam of light at photo cells on each corner of the TV, turning it off and on and changing the channels.

His invention was an expensive one before the advent of cable television channels and thus became a standard feature till today. Polley won an Emmy for his work in 1997.

As you use your television remote today, spare a thought for its inventor, will you?