Father Of The TV Remote Eugene Polley, 1915-2012

Yesterday the tech community marked the passing of one of the world’s unsung inventors, Eugene Polley, widely considered to be the father of the TV remote. In 1955, Polley changed television history by introducing the world’s first-ever wireless TV remote, known as the “Flash-Matic,” produced by Zenith Radio Corporation (now Zenith Electronics). While that first device was limited in its functionality, it marked a monumental step forward in comparison to any other product on the market and paved the way for the remote as we now know it. Polley spent the entirety of his prolific 47-year engineering career with Zenith. He is survived by his son, Eugene J. Polley Jr., and his grandson, Aaron.

We here at Logitech are particularly grateful for his contributions, as his invention paved the way for the innovations that followed. Without Polley’s invention, the Harmony lineup of remotes might have never come into existence. Our team will certainly keep his curious spirit top of mind as we look to evolve our own products.

Author

Product Manager, Harmony Remotes Business Unit

7 comments

Comments are closed.