Raye's History House

The color television was invented in Mexico by Guillermo González Camarena in 1940. Camarena first became interested in engineering when he was just a child. His interest began with radios, and he would scavenge for parts for his experiments at flea markets near Mexico City where he lived. His interest soon centered on the new technology of television, and, at only 23-years-old in his home’s basement, González Camarena figured out how to change black and white images into color.

He invented a disk that contained three glass filters, which when exposed to red, green, and blue light and rotated could create colored images.

González Camarena received the U.S. patent in 1942, and his method was accepted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1950.

González Camarena would go on to found Mexico City’s Canal Cinco (Channel Five) in 1946. He also proposed the telesecundaria network, which would equip remote secondary schools with TV sets to receive lessons broadcast from Mexico City. The network began in 1968, three years after González Camarena’s death, and today helps teach 810,000 Mexican high schoolers.

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