Eugene Polley, a self-taught Chicago engineer, invented the TV remote control.

Eugene Polley should be ther most popular man on the planet.

He left behind a legacy of leisure that billions of people rely on daily, spending hours indulging in it.

In 1955, a self-taught mechanical engineer from Chicago invented the television remote control.

He imagined a future where we wouldn't need to leave the couch or move any muscle more than a finger.

Eugene Polley changed our lives for the easier.

For 47 years, Polley progressed from a stock boy to a pioneering inventor at Zenith Electronics, earning 18 patents.

The first wireless TV remote control, known as the Flash-Matic, was his most significant innovation. Prior to this, control devices were hard-wired to the television.

The boob tube was operated by the science-fiction ray gun with beams of light.

The 8-year-old child was the only known remote control TV technology at the time, which was replaced by Polley’s Flash-Matic.

The Flash-Matic looked like a science-fiction ray gun. It operated the boob tube with beams of light.

Since the advent of television, adults and older siblings have been forced to begrudgingly walk back and forth to change channels, often with a pouting expression.

John Taylor, the senior vice president and company historian of Zenith, joked that when kids changed the channel, they often had to adjust the rabbit ears as well.

Taylor, like many Americans over 50, spent countless unpaid hours as a youth turning the TV dial.

In a press release dated June 13, 1955, Zenith announced that the Flash-Matic was a "startling new kind of television."

The new product, Zenith, has a pistol-shaped gadget that uses a flash beam to turn on/off, change channels, or silence long-winded commercials.

The Zenith announcement stated that the harmless magic ray does all the work without any dangling wires or connected cords.

The world has never been the same.

In 1999, the inventor, now retired, revealed to Sports Illustrated that for many people, the most-used object in everyday life is a common household item.

"It gets more use than the flush toilet."

His innovation has spawned numerous descendants that are widely used today, including multiple TV remotes at home, work, and even in vehicles.

Although the TV remote is widely used, the identity of its inventor was nearly forgotten.

Eugene Polley is less famous than Elvis Presley because he couldn't swivel his hips.

Who fought for his legacy after being overshadowed by a rival engineer in the invention of the TV remote? Eugene Polley.

Bootlegger’s son

On November 29, 1915, Eugene Joseph Polley was born in Chicago to Anthony and Veronica (Wachowski).

Veronica, despite being from a wealthy family, married Gene Polley Jr., the inventor's son, who was considered an outsider in their community.

Gene Jr. stated that Anthony Polley had a colorful history as a bootlegger.

Gene Jr. boasted connections at the White House, saying, 'My dad got to meet the president when he was a young boy.'

"My father wore hand-me-down clothes. Nobody would pitch in to help him with an education." — Gene Polley Jr.

Although the father had ambition and connections, the Polley family had limited financial resources.

"My father wore secondhand clothes," Polley Jr. stated. "No one contributed to his education."

Due to a lack of finances, the future inventor dropped out of college after two years.

In 1935, he landed a job as a stock clerk at Zenith Radio Company, which was later renamed.

In 1921, in Chicago, a team of partners, including World War I U.S. Navy veteran Eugene F. McDonald, founded Zenith, which is now a division of LG electronics.

He was known around the company as the commander.

The commander was impressed by Polley's work ethic, organizational skills, and natural mechanical ability.

During the 1940s, Polley was a member of Zenith engineering teams that developed weapons for the United States as it entered World War II.

Polley played a key role in the creation of radar, night vision, and proximity fuses, all of which utilize radio waves to detonate explosives at a specified distance from their target.

Polley in World War II helped develop radar, night vision and proximity fuses, which used radio waves to ignite ordnance.

The rapidly growing television market was led by Zenith during the post-war era when American consumer culture flourished.

The remote control was created by Commander McDonald to mute the sound of commercial interruptions on broadcast television, which he found annoying. At the same time, he recognized the potential for profit.

The TV console had four photo cells, one in each corner, which could be changed by users using the Flash-Matic to point at the correct embedded photo cell.

Polley Jr. stated that he drove to Commander McDonald's house and installed it for him.

"The commander ordered the product to be produced within a week, and it became extremely popular, selling quickly and exceeding demand."

Battle for his legacy

"Zenith states in a company history that Commander McDonald was fond of the concepts demonstrated by Polley’s Flash-Matic, but he soon instructed his engineers to investigate other technologies for the upcoming generation."

The remote control of Polley had certain constraints, particularly because it relied on light beams, which could be disrupted by ambient light, such as sunlight passing through a house, while watching TV.

Dr. Robert Adler, a renowned engineer and inventor, designed the Space Command, a revolutionary product released by Zenith just a year after the Flash-Matic hit the market. This innovative device utilized ultrasound technology to control the tube, marking a significant departure in the field of technology.

The Space Command was constructed using aluminum rods that were lightweight and produced unique high-frequency sounds when struck at one end. These rods were meticulously cut to specific lengths to produce four distinct frequencies.

Different frequencies controlled different functions: on/off, channels and sound.

The first "clicker" remote was activated by a small hammer striking the end of an aluminum rod, resulting in a click sound.

Polley's Flash-Matic was quickly surpassed in sales and popularity by Adler's Space Command.

Polley was soon replaced as the inventor of the TV remote by Adler.

Dr. Robert Adler soon replaced Eugene Polley in the eyes of the industry as the inventor of the TV remote.

Adler is considered the inventor of the first "practical" TV remote control by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, while Polley is not recognized as an inventor.

Polley’s pioneering work in remote TV technology was being swept aside.

Polley Jr. claims that Adler had a reputation for taking credit for collaborative work done by other engineers at Zenith, which greatly annoyed him.

The friction was heightened by their different backgrounds.

Polley, a self-taught mechanical engineer without college degrees, rose from the stockroom to a successful career.

"Although I hesitate to label him a blue-collar worker," Taylor, the renowned historian, stated, "he was a tenacious mechanical engineer hailing from Chicago."

Adler, born into an affluent family in Austria, pursued his studies at the University of Vienna and obtained a doctorate in physics.

According to Taylor, who knew both men later in their careers, they were two very different guys.

Polley Jr. stated that the breaking point for his father came when Adler appeared on a late-night national talk show and declared himself the inventor of the TV remote.

"My father saw that and just erupted," said the son.

"Eugene Polley was a scrappy mechanical engineer, a scrappy Chicago guy." — John Taylor

In 1982, Polley retired from Zenith. Later, his daughter Joan, who had passed away, endeavored to rectify history.

""She was the first to arrive in my office and inquire about Bob Adler," said Taylor."

Changing technology helped in Polley's favor, too.

In the 1980s, infrared remote controls began to replace Adler's ultrasound technology for controlling TV sets. These new remotes used line-of-sight light instead of sound, as did Polley's Flash-Matic, although in a much more primitive form.

In 2012, the Guardian of London observed that today's controllers are more aligned with Polley's concept than with Adler's.

As remotes were becoming standard in American households, the shift to infrared technology occurred.

In 1981, according to Taylor, approximately 60% of televisions were controlled using remotes.

"By the end of the decade, every TV will have a remote control," he stated.

Polley and Adler shared an Emmy Award in 1997 for "pioneering development of wireless remote control for consumer television."

In 1997, Polley and Adler were awarded an Emmy for their pioneering work in developing wireless remote controls for consumer television.

In November 2000, Polley told the Baltimore Sun that the invention of the flush toilet by an unknown individual made him think that maybe his life wasn't a waste and that he had contributed to humanity.

King of the remote control

On May 20, 2012, Eugene Polley passed away at the age of 96 from natural causes.

For 47 years, he had a successful career at Zenith.

He was awarded just $1 for the patent of the Flash-Matic, as company policy dictated that employee inventions belonged to the company.

In appreciation of the technological advancement in remote technology, Commander McDonald presented him with a $1,000 bonus.

He had lived long enough to witness the widespread use of the remote-control technology he invented, which has become an integral part of our daily lives.

In 1999, Sports Illustrated published a tribute to Polley and Adler, celebrating them as the magazine's "Men of the Millennium."

Steve Rushin specifically recognized Polley for his accomplishment.

Rushin observed that society has returned to Polley's original idea with the technological advancement of light-powered remote control.

"Polley, now an emperor in his easy chair, sometimes wears a 75-button remote control on his head, declaring himself the King of the Remote Control."

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