Charles Francis Jenkins

Who was Charles Francis Jenkins?

Charles Francis Jenkins was an American pioneer of early cinema and one of the inventors of television, though he used mechanical rather than electronic technologies. His businesses included Charles Jenkins Laboratories and Jenkins Television Corporation. Over 400 patents were issued to Jenkins, many for his inventions related to motion pictures and television .

Jenkins was born in Dayton, Ohio, grew up near Richmond, Indiana, where he went to school, and went to Washington, D.C. in 1890, where he worked as a stenographer.