Sir Isaac Shoenberg: Television Pioneer

Shoenberg, as Director of Research at Marconi-EMI, assembled and led the team of gifted scientists and engineers there in developing the world’s first electronic high-definition television system. Demonstrated at Alexandra Palace in 1936, it was then adopted by the BBC as the basis for the world’s first public television service.

Shoenberg received public recognition in 1962 with a knighthood for his services to television and to sound recording. However the details of his personal history remain relatively unknown.

Isaac's father, Julius, was a successful timber merchant.

The family home in Pinsk.

Here he was responsible for the research, design and installation of the earliest radio stations in Russia.

In July 1914 the family left St Petersburg for London, where Isaac had a place on a doctoral degree course at Imperial College.

However following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Isaac was cut off from access to his Russian savings and so was unable to proceed with his university course. Instead he found work in the patent office of the London Marconi Company. He and the rest of the family were granted British citizenship in 1922.

Among the team was Alan Blumlein who invented binaural sound and the first films with a stereo soundtrack. The team found great success and Shoenberg was able to raise substantial project funds.

The team had been experimenting with electro-mechanical television, as demonstrated by John Logie Baird, but were convinced by the possibilities of a complete electronic system.

When the BBC announced a competition to deliver the first television service, EMI partnered with Marconi to challenge the Baird Company. The EMI system could transmit films but was unproven live.

Shoenberg convinced EMI to invest £100,000, a huge sum for the time, into research and his team was able to overcome issues with the system, developing the Emitron camera using a vacuum electron tube.

Shoenberg was confident in his team's ability to deliver. He gambled, committing to delivery of image quality almost double that requested by the BBC, 405 lines against 240 from the Baird Company

The lightweight camera allowed greater flexibility to move around the studio and cut between shots, creating more visually dramatic programming.

In addition the camera’s ability to capture images outside the studio revolutionised the potential to relay live events to the public.

Despite a strong professional rivalry the two competing teams had the greatest respect for each other, as shown in this later letter from Douglas Birkenshaw, who had started out with Baird.

Shoenberg had a long career at EMI continuing to push innovation. Much later in life his achievements were recognised. He was granted the Faraday medal in 1954, and was knighted in 1962.

Sir Isaac Shoenberg’s scientific ability, his tenacity in navigating technical challenges and the courage and determination he showed in taking decisions that presented considerable risk all played a major role in the success of the Marconi-EMI team. Equally important, however, were Shoenberg’s leadership and the confidence he placed in his fellow team members, as well as his ability to win the trust of his board of directors to support the huge financial and scientific risks he was prepared to take in developing an as yet unproven technology. It was above all this combination of Shoenberg’s own remarkable skills together with his ability to recognise the value of team work and of collaboration with others that defines his unique place in the history of one of the most important inventions of modern times.