I learned as a child that John Logie Baird was the inventor of television. It wasn't until much later that that fact was confused with the attribution of that dubious honor to Philo Farnsworth. Like most complex inventions, each successor stood on the shoulders of those who came before, although in the case of TV, the use to which the invention was put is a source of tragedy.
Baird's invention was a ridiculous electro-mechanical contraption, yet the BBC did have some commitment to it. To get out from under it they held a competition, and Farnsworth, among others, showed up with a prototype of modern electronic television.
I learned all this on a PBS show about the history of TV. They interviewed Farnsworth's widow, who said she was in the room where Farnsworth's demo was set up and Baird walked by the door and was captivated by the image. He walked slowly toward it, stared at it for a while, then turned and left, never saying a word.