Sarkes Tarzian

Sarkes Tarzian
Born (1900-10-05)October 5, 1900
Elâzığ, Elazığ Province, Turkey
Died November 17, 1987(1987-11-17) (aged 87)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania
Spouse(s) Mary Mangigian (1930–1987, his death)

Sarkes Tarzian (October 5, 1900 – November 17, 1987) was an Ottoman-born American engineer, inventor, and broadcaster. He was ethnic Armenian born in the Ottoman Empire. He and his family immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in 1907, following their persecution by Ottoman Turks.[1] "His father escaped to America from the Turkish massacres of Armenians, and got a job as a weaver."In 1918, he was the top high school graduate in the city of Philadelphia, earning him a four-year, all-expenses-paid college scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania[2] where he received an undergraduate degree in 1924 and a graduate degree in 1927. Tarzian worked for the Atwater Kent company and then for RCA in Bloomington, Indiana.

He founded the manufacturing company Sarkes Tarzian Enterprises in 1944, and was involved in early experiments in VHF audio broadcasting in 1946. Tarzian was a member of the Rotary Club. In 1949 he started television station WTTV in Bloomington. He sold that station in 1978.

The Sarkes Tarzian company was an important manufacturer of radio and television equipment, television tuners, and components. Its FM radio receivers helped to popularize the broadcast medium. Sarkes Tarzian manufactured studio color TV cameras in the mid 60's.[3] The manufacturing operations were spun off in the 1970s and today the company still exists as a broadcaster, owning several television and radio stations. Gray Television has owned a partial stake in Sarkes Tarzian, Inc., since the early 2000s.

He was survived by his wife Dr Mary Mangigian Tarzian (August 22, 1905 – July 7, 1998). They had two children.

The Sarkes and Mary Tarzian Nature Preserve in Bloomington, Indiana, commemorates their names.

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ The Ledger, 10 July 1974. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19740710&id=4O8vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s_oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3330,2513228
  2. ↑ http://www.smecc.org/sarkes_tarzian.htm. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Sklarewitz, Norman (June 1955). "Hometown TV Man". The Rotarian. p. 19. Retrieved 22 November 2013.


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