Philo T. Farnsworth lived and worked in Chestnut Hill and Wyndmoor in the 1930s while he pioneered the first fully-functional television system.
In 1934, Farnsworth was invited by the Franklin Institute to demonstrate his TV at their new building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The event attracted great crowds who watched the crew film all sorts of acts, including animals and guests.
The Philadelphia press quoted visiting scientists who witnessed the demonstrations and concluded that the television was “epochal.”