Thomas Toliver Goldsmith Junior, the Great Inventor Zachary Sine Grade 8 Thomas Toliver Goldsmith Junior, the Great Inventor

Early Life Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. was born in a town called Greenville, South Carolina, in 1910. His parents were Thomas and Charlotte Goldsmith. He also had a brother, but his name is unknown.

Schooling Thomas attended Furman University and graduated in 1931. He received his PhD in physics in 1936 from Cornell University.

Early Inventions As a teenager, Thomas built crystal radio sets for fun. He was a genius even then!

More Schooling Thomas started teaching physics at Furman University in 1966. He was also hired at DuMont Laboratories.

Marriage Thomas got married to Helen Wilcox, and they would remain married for 70 years.

Big Inventions Thomas invented something that would change the world forever: The Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device. This was the first video game in history, where the user guided missiles to shoot down planes. He also went on to make Pong, another video game about tennis.

Final Moments Thomas Toliver Goldsmith, Jr. was definitely a great inventor, but he was still human. He died in 2009 at the age of 99. He died because of a hip fracture.