NBCUniversal
Belarus (Russian Empire) → USA
Media, Entertainment & Communications
Summary
NBCUniversal’s foundational chapter belongs to David Sarnoff, born in Uzlyany, in present-day Belarus, in 1891. His family emigrated to New York’s Lower East Side in 1900. Sarnoff rose from telegraph office boy to head of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which he led from 1930 to 1970. He founded the National Broadcasting Company in 1926, the first major radio network in the United States, and oversaw the launch of NBC television in 1939. The Sarnoff-era RCA broke up in the 1980s; NBC survives as the centrepiece of NBCUniversal under Comcast.
European Contribution
Eastern European Jewish drive toward technical education and self-improvement.
American Impact
Created modern American broadcasting; built RCA and NBC into the dominant force in twentieth-century radio and television; oversaw the commercial launch of colour television in 1953.
Timeline Highlights
- 1900 Sarnoff family arrives in New York
- 1919 RCA established
- 1926 NBC founded
- 1939 NBC television launched at the World's Fair
- 2011 NBCUniversal becomes a Comcast subsidiary