Jan Szczepanik
Jan Szczepanik (June 13, 1872 – April 18, 1926) was a Polish inventor, with several hundred patents and over 50 discoveries to his name, many of which are still applied today, especially in the motion picture industry, as well as in photography and television. Some of his concepts helped the future evolution of TV broadcasting, such as the telectroscope (an apparatus for distant reproduction of images and sound using electricity) or the wireless telegraph, which greatly affected the development of telecommunications. He died in Tarnów in the Second Polish Republic. Biography Szczepanik was born in the Austrian Partition, in the village of Rudniki near Mościska (now Mostyska, Ukraine) but relocated as infant with his mother to Zręcin in the industrial region of Krosno, where he grew up. His birthplace was controlled by Austria-Hungary between 1772–1918 after the partitions of Poland. Szczepanik graduated from a teachers' college and spent a lot of time reading scientific literature and journals. He moved to Vienna after his attempt to advance the Jacquard loom from France (invented in 1801) was rejected by some local weavers for fear of losing business. His knowledge of fabric however, enabled him to create the first ballistic vest using silk.