David Sarnoff
| David Sarnoff | |
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Sarnoff in 1922
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| Native name | Даві́д Сарно́ў |
| Born |
February 27, 1891 Uzlyany near Minsk, Russian Empire (present-day Belarus) |
| Died | December 12, 1971 (aged 80) Manhattan, New York City, United States |
| Resting place |
Kensico Cemetery Valhalla, New York, United States 41°04′40″N 73°47′11″W / 41.0779°N 73.7865°W |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Citizenship | American |
| Years active | 1919–1970 |
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| Board member of | |
| Spouse(s) | Lizette Hermant (Sarnoff) |
| Children |
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| Parents |
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| Relatives | Eugene Lyons |
| Awards |
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| Military career | |
| Nickname(s) | "The General" |
| Allegiance |
 United States
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| Service/branch |
 United States Army
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| Years of service | 1941-1945 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Unit | Army Signal Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
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David Sarnoff (Belarusian: Даві́д Сарно́ў, Russian: Дави́д Сарно́в, February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was an American businessman and pioneer of American radio and television. Throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his retirement in 1970.
He ruled over an ever-growing telecommunications and consumer electronics empire that included both RCA and NBC, and became one of the largest companies in the world. Named a Reserve Brigadier General of the Signal Corps in 1945, Sarnoff thereafter was widely known as "The General".
Sarnoff is credited with Sarnoff's law, which states that the value of a broadcast network is proportional to the number of viewers.
David Sarnoff was born to a Jewish family in Uzlyany, a small town in Belarus, the son of Abraham and Leah Sarnoff. Abraham emigrated to the United States and raised funds to bring the family. Sarnoff spent much of his early childhood in a cheder (or yeshiva) studying and memorizing the Torah. He immigrated with his mother and three brothers and one sister to New York City in 1900, where he helped support his family by selling newspapers before and after his classes at the Educational Alliance. In 1906 his father became incapacitated by tuberculosis, and at age 15 Sarnoff went to work to support the family. He had planned to pursue a full-time career in the newspaper business, but a chance encounter led to a position as an office boy at the Commercial Cable Company. When his superior refused him paid leave for Rosh Hashanah, he joined the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America on September 30, 1906, and started a career of over 60 years in electronic communications.
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