Irish Examiner view: The box of delights that changed our lives

Whatever you think about the current state of TV programming, it is beyond argument that it was a technical development which has profoundly changed our lives and the way in which we see ourselves and each other

It was at the end of January 1926, that John Logie Baird gave the first demonstration of television to members of the Royal Institution in Albemarle Street in London’s Mayfair.

It is perhaps a moment to honour that occasion 100 years ago when a society changing technology was shown to a group of scientists for the first time. And contemplate, also, how a modern successor which has also transformed us is also undergoing rapid, and potentially ominous, alteration.

It was at the end of January 1926, that John Logie Baird gave the first demonstration of television to members of the Royal Institution in Albemarle Street in London’s Mayfair. His original version provided only 30 lines of definition which was subsequently upgraded to 240 lines before settling on the 405 line system pioneered by the Marconi Company and EMI.