Armenian-born American inventor and broadcaster. The son of Bedros and Aghavni Tarzian of Kharpert (Harpoot, now Elazig) in the Ottoman Empire, in 1907 he immigrated with his family to Philadelphia. There he helped his family by working after school and delivering newspapers and groceries. 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 Univesity of Pennsylvania. He earned his electrical engineering degree, and began a long career in the radio elevision manufacturing industry. 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. In 1948, he designed a television tuner that could produce high-quality results at low cost. In 1949 he started television station WTTV in Bloomington which he ran until 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, and Tarzian also invented the automobile radio. He married Dr. Mary Mangigian, a fellow Philadelphia Armenian, in 1930 and had two children. The Tarzian company still exists as a broadcaster owning several radio and television stations, and the Sarkes and Mary Tarzian Nature Preserve in Bloomington, Indiana commemorates their lives.
Armenian-born American inventor and broadcaster. The son of Bedros and Aghavni Tarzian of Kharpert (Harpoot, now Elazig) in the Ottoman Empire, in 1907 he immigrated with his family to Philadelphia. There he helped his family by working after school and delivering newspapers and groceries. 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 Univesity of Pennsylvania. He earned his electrical engineering degree, and began a long career in the radio elevision manufacturing industry. 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. In 1948, he designed a television tuner that could produce high-quality results at low cost. In 1949 he started television station WTTV in Bloomington which he ran until 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, and Tarzian also invented the automobile radio. He married Dr. Mary Mangigian, a fellow Philadelphia Armenian, in 1930 and had two children. The Tarzian company still exists as a broadcaster owning several radio and television stations, and the Sarkes and Mary Tarzian Nature Preserve in Bloomington, Indiana commemorates their lives.
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