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RCA was founded in 1919 initially as a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Company. In 1932, RCA became an independent company after the partners were required to divest their ownership as part of the settlement of a government antitrust suit.
Prior to the formation of RCA the Marconi Telegraph Company of America had placed with General Electric in 1919 an order for 24 Alexanderson high power RF alternators. It was considered that with such equipment Marconi may establish a worldwide monopoly on wireless communication and so to block this RCA was formed and negotiations for the sale of the alternators halted.
The proposal was that General Electric should create the company. GE chose to merge with The American Marconi Company and gather by agreement within RCA the patents of other major American companies including Westinghouse and Western Electric. Thus a major new company was created.
The company had been formed to provide trans-oceanic communications and communications with shipping. Any valves that were sold came from GE or Westinghouse and were sold under the Radiotron brand.
In 1930 RCA formed RCA Radiotron Inc. This became a major valve manufacturing operation that produced thermionic devices up until 1976.
The company of E T Cunningham were permitted to sell valves under their own label. In 1932 RCA purchased control of Cunningham and eventually both operations were based in Harrison NJ.
David Sarnoff was associated with RCA from 1919 until 1970 and became president of the company in 1930. He had the vision to see radio communications as more than point to point but also had the potential for point to many - broadcasting. Initially ignored by the company executives he eventually was proved correct by early 1922. RCA formed the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in 1925.
Sarnoff also recognised the potential for transmitting both audio and video. He met Vladimir Zworykin, an engineer with Westinghouse, in 1928. Zworykin had made contact with Philo T Farnsworth and seen the image dissector. Back at Westinghouse he made copies of the device and was impressed with the potential of the technology. He presented his ideas to Sarnoff at RCA and claimed that a working television system could be developed in two years for around $100k.
Seven years later in 1935 a photomultiplier was demonstrated and in 1936 the first iconoscope TV camera. It is estimated that the development of electronic television at RCA had cost $50,000,000.00. Television broadcasting commenced in April 1939.
References: Wikipedia & 1043.
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