John Logie Baird invents television
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 26 January 2026
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On 26 January 1926, John Logie Baird first demonstrated his 'televisor' in public. It was the prototype for television.
Many people couldn't believe what they were seeing whilst others thought it was a pointless invention.
In 2010, Iain Logie Baird, the inventor's grandson, spoke to Claire Bowes.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
(Photo: Inventor John Logie Baird. Credit: Topical PressAgency/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 1:13.7 | It's 100 years since the start of television. Claire Bowes is taking you back to 1926 and a technological breakthrough that would |
| 1:20.3 | change the world. It's January 1926. Men and women in evening dress are gathered in a small attic room in central London. |
| 1:29.9 | They've been invited by a young Scottish engineer named John Logie Baird. |
| 1:35.4 | The guests are from the Royal Institution, a highly respected body of scientists established in the late 18th century, |
| 1:42.3 | and they are about to see the first demonstration of television. |
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