"Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people"—David Sarnoff

From the David Sarnoff Library:

“David Sarnoff (1891-1971) was not an inventor, an engineer, or a scientist. Instead, as a corporate manager and executive he became technology’s champion, especially for broadcast communications, starting at the age of fifteen. He advocated, supported, financed, and oversaw the development of radio in the 1910s and 1920s, and then television from the 1930s through the 1950s.”

There’s a lot hidden behind and beneath that bland paragraph. Sarnoff was the massive managerial acumen behind the greatest mass consumer entertainment developments and many of the most important electronic innovations of the 20^th century—like the MOSFET. RCA did more than any other semiconductor manufacturer to push CMOS into mainstream electronics. Remember RCA COS/MOS ICs and COSMAC, the world’s first CMOS microprocessor? Of course, where would we be today without CMOS?

As RCA president, Sarnoff hung out with the heads of GE and Westinghouse, got into trouble with the Federal government for working a bit too closely with those other two companies on a slick patent-sharing arrangement, used the resulting antitrust actions to strengthen RCA, and was known to ruthlessly crush those individuals who challenged him while supporting his engineers unreservedly. In short, he was a role model for today’s technology barons.

RCA established the David Sarnoff Library in 1967, shortly before Sarnoff died. The library houses a lot of Sarnoff’s papers and other memorabilia. Of course, “RCA” exists only as a logo these days; the brand is actually owned by Thomson—sort of the RCA of Europe.

For several years, the David Sarnoff Library has been co-located with and sheltered by the Sarnoff Corporation, which is now owned by SRI. Because SRI is now doing a lot of government research, its facilities are not compatible with public tours so the library has to go. The library tours ended last month and the packing has commenced. The Library needs new digs by the end of the year and is considering several alternatives.

Note: Thanks to reader Larry Marks for bringing the Sarnoff Library move to my attention.