People in today’s society take for granted many things that we have in the world to this day. Who invented the shoes we walk in, or who created the phone we talk through every day? When we watch the Super Bowl or binge Netflix shows or even cartoons, we’re all glued to the tv, but who made this thing we use almost every day? That man’s name is Guillermo Gonzales Camarena.

Camarena was born on February 17, 1917, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Guillermo, known to friends as “Wicho,” and his wife Maria Antonia Becerra Acosta had no children. His love for electrical engineering was strong and kept him occupied, just as a father is kept busy with his kids. Camarena was a Mexican electrical engineer, and it was his invention of the Trichromatic Sequential Fields System from primary colors that led him to think about the color television. Before John Logie Baird’s colored TV, Camarena created this system, making Camarena the first to invent color television. This invention revolutionized the way people viewed television from that day forward.

Before inventing the Trichromatic Sequential Fields System, Camarena was already an accomplished inventor. In 1934, at the age of 17, he built his own television camera. At age 23, he was granted the patent to create the Trichromatic Sequential Fields System and adapt it to the black and white system. He then went on to manufacture his own telescope that became part of Mexico’s Astronomy Association.

Wicho obtained authorization to make the first publicly announced color broadcast in Mexico on February 8, 1963, Paraiso Infantil, on Mexico City’s XHGC-TV, a station established in 1952. Camarena made his first tv set, which was already tested on August 14, 1941. He sold his first set in 1954 for $1450. Guillermo was just 23 years of age when he made his first set, which is a fascinating age since most of us at the age of 23 may still be trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives.

As time passed on, electrical engineers upgraded Wicho’s first main idea. The demand to move from black and white TVs grew as broadcasting companies discovered the vast profits to be made from television broadcasts and the shows soon to air. Because of men like Camarena, we can enjoy vivid colors and have a pleasant experience watching the shows we love.

Sources contributing to this story:

Guillermo Gonzales Camarena (earlytelevision.org)

Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena – The Cardinal (thehoovercardinal.org)