Today, I would like to introduce an invention related to March 8th. Introducing this time is a home video game console invented by German-born American inventor Ralph Henry Baer (March 8, 1922-December 6, 2014). He was born exactly 100 years ago today in Pirmasens, in the southwestern Germany.
Being a Jew, he left Germany with his family in 1938, when the Nazi persecution of Jews became fierce. In the United States where he fled, he studied by himself and worked as a factory worker. In 1943, he was convened in World War II and served in the army. After the war, his took a bachelor’s degree in television engineering (1949) and began his life as an inventor.
In 1966, while working on airplane radar at the munitions company Sanders Associates (currently part of BAE Systems), he began prototyping game consoles such as the “Brown Box.” The licensed Magnavox was launched as the “Odyssey” in 1972, leading to the subsequent rise of the video game industry. However, even though it produced the most profitable business at that time, it was not recognized by Sanders. However, his willingness to invent was never lost, and it is said that he obtained more than 150 patents in his lifetime. (blink)
Related link:
Ralph H. Baer – Wikipedia