Philoary
Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906-1971) invented television. Because the Radio Corporation of America invested its abundant resources into destroying Farnsworth, it's not surprising that he rarely gets the credit he deserves. Few Hot 100 lists included Phil Farnsworth in their ranks of important people of the century. Although San Francisco's 202 Green Street, where Farnsworth narrowcast his first televised image, now houses a post-production company called Philo Television, a graffiti artist has written "RIP" on the landmark stone that marks the address. But we need only glance at the trickle of aneurysm-inducing video that comes through even a T-1 line to appreciate how much information Farnsworth managed to harness and transmit back in 1927. And if you've grown skeptical of the consensus-building vigor of Farnsworth's medium, we can only ask, "Is that your final answer?" In any event, we choose to name the coldest month of the year for the man who made the living room a tolerable place to be.