Allen B. Du Mont (DuMont)

Archive

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Radio Alpha

AWA Review #38, 2025. Courtesy Antique Wireless Association

AWA Review #38, 2025. Courtesy Antique Wireless Association

Name/Title

Allen B. Du Mont (DuMont)

Scope and Content

Allen B. Du Mont

Category

Manufacturer, Company Histories, People

General Notes

Note

Abstract The Rise and Fall of Allen B. Du Mont, bu Michael Molner This article chronicles the early life and rapid ascension of electronics pioneer Allen B. Du Mont during the formative years of the American radio and television industries. Beginning with his childhood fascination with electronics, the text traces Du Mont’s early professional triumphs at the Westinghouse Electric Company, where his automated testing innovations revolutionized vacuum tube production. After serving as Chief Engineer for the De Forest Radio Company and managing its mechanical television division—acquired from the Jenkins Television Corporation—Du Mont recognized the inherent commercial limitations of mechanical scanning systems. Convinced that the future of television relied entirely on electronic design, he founded Allen B. DuMont Laboratories in 1931. Operating initially out of his basement, Du Mont leveraged the manufacture of precision cathode-ray tube (CRT) oscillographs to subsidize his intensive television research. The narrative highlights key milestone developments, including the invention of the "magic eye" tuning tube—the patent sale of which funded the acquisition of a dedicated manufacturing plant—and the creation of the 14-inch "Big Bertha" direct-view CRT. By reverse-engineering British technology, DuMont Laboratories successfully introduced the first commercial direct-view television receivers to the U.S. market in 1938. The study concludes with an overview of the company's vital manufacturing contributions to military radar displays during World War II, its role in establishing national NTSC television standards, and its explosive postwar expansion across receiver manufacturing, component production, and the launch of the landmark DuMont Television Network.