Biography

An old photograph of Ralph Baer as a baby in 1923
1923

Ralph Baer was born March 8, 1922, in Germany—a dangerous time and place for Jewish children and their families. Baer faced increasing anti-Semitism growing up. The Nuremberg Laws—a series of highly repressive measures passed in 1935 that deprived German Jews of political and social freedom—forced him to leave school at age thirteen, though he pursued his studies on his own.

Unlike so many during that time, the Baer family was fortunate to have the means to escape Germany for America months before Kristallnacht—the Night of Broken Glass—in 1938. On November 9 of that year, Nazi troops throughout Germany smashed windows of stores and homes owned by Jews and set fire to synagogues, injuring—and even killing—German citizens of Jewish decent. These state-sponsored, anti-Jewish riots are considered to be the start of the Holocaust. Because most of his mother’s family had immigrated to the United States in 1895, there were plenty of relatives who were willing to sponsor Ralph Baer and his family, a key immigration law requirement in America at that time.

As a young immigrant, Baer had the freedom to choose his own future. He graduated as a radio service technician in 1940 and worked in the field for three years until he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served one year stateside and two years overseas in Europe where he was assigned to Military Intelligence.
A photograph of young Ralph Baer working with electronics
1939

After the war, Baer attended the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago on the G.I. Bill. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Television Engineering in 1949 and was consistently employed as an engineer afterwards. In 1955, he joined Sanders Associates, an electronics firm that did most of its work for the military.

During this same period, Baer started his own family. He and Dena Whinston married in 1952 and they had three children: sons James (born 1955) and Mark (born 1957) and daughter Nancy (born 1960). To be closer to his family, Baer set up a lab in his basement to work on any after-hours projects.

A photograph of Ralph Baer in 1944, wearing an Army uiform
1944

In 1966, Baer had an epiphany while waiting at a bus stop. He remembered how, as a new graduate in 1951, he had proposed to the television company that employed him that they should build games into their brand of television sets to differentiate them from those of their competitors. The proposal was rejected, but, fifteen years later, Baer realized that the idea still had merit. By the 1960s, millions of Americans had invested in televisions for their homes, which meant that there was already a large potential market for a product that would allow them to interact with their television sets.

The next morning at work, Baer wrote a detailed four-page memo specifying his ideas, and how they could be applied, to convince his company to support a modest research and development project. Baer, in an oral history interview that can be found at the National Museum of American History’s Archive Center, recalled that “what stands out is the intent. I’m in a military electronics company and I’m starting to write a document—it’s a disclosure—saying to myself, ‘How do I write this? This has nothing to do with anything! I don’t want anybody who reads this to get turned off.’ So, I made it sound like it applied to whatever the hell it was I was supposed to be doing. So the first thing I don’t do is call it a toy. But I can call it gaming.” Gaming was a term regularly used in the military and gave the project the appearance of being within the company’s scope of interest

However, even Baer recognized that this was going to be a stretch. This was one of the reasons he intended video games to be a commercial product from the very start. He would later admit that “I didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or what to be. . . . At Sanders, I was supposed to be running a division, not fussing around with TV games, which is what they were called for many years.”

Fortunately, this did not deter Baer’s supervisors. They agreed to a modest research project. In 1967, Baer with the assistance of Bob Tremblay, a technician who worked with Baer at Sanders, created the first of several video game test units. Called TVG#1 or TV Game Unit #1, the device, when used with an alignment generator, produced a dot on the television screen that could be manually controlled by the user.

Once Baer had established how it was possible to interact with the television set, he and his team, comprised of engineers William Harrison and William Rusch, were able to design and build increasingly sophisticated prototypes. Sanders senior management were impressed with Baer’s progress and charged him with the task of turning this technology into a commercially viable product. After a few years and numerous tests and advancements, Baer and his colleagues developed a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system, nicknamed the “Brown Box.” Sanders licensed the Brown Box to Magnavox, which released the device as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972.

Baer continued to be interested in video game development and to be involved in various projects, both acting for Sanders and under his own initiative. When Sanders decided they wanted to be more directly involved with the video game business, Baer led a team to develop a series of arcade games for them to license. He also encouraged Magnavox to improve Odyssey.

When Coleco Telstar, another first-generation video game system, did not pass interference tests needed for Federal Communications Commission approval, the company turned to Sanders and Ralph Baer in hopes that Baer’s experience would be able to help them. Baer found their solution within the week. Coleco received its FCC approval and Coleco Telstar sold over one million units in 1976.

In 1975, Baer began an independent consulting business, separate from his work at Sanders, to develop electronic toys and games. He partnered with Marvin Glass & Associates in Chicago, the toy design firm responsible for some of the most successful American toys of the 20th century, on several electronic games. The most successful of these was Simon, the electronic memory game. Baer officially retired from Sanders in 1987 to work full time on his consulting business. He continued to invent electronic toys and games until his passing on December 6, 2014.

Ralph Baer donated his video game prototypes, objects, notes, and schematics to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2006. In 2014, the Museum collected his workshop to become the landmark object for its Innovation Wing.

From this assemblage of metal, wires and glass tubes, the future of video games would be built.In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates Inc., engineer Ralph Baer began to look into new ways to use television, focusing specifically on interactive games.
Description
From this assemblage of metal, wires and glass tubes, the future of video games would be built.
In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates Inc., engineer Ralph Baer began to look into new ways to use television, focusing specifically on interactive games. In 1967, he created the first of several video game test units. Called TVG#1 or TV Game Unit #1, this device, when used with an alignment generator, produced a dot on the television screen that could be manually controlled by the user. Now that he was able to interact with the television, Baer could design increasingly sophisticated interfaces and programs.
TV Game Unit #1 was designed by Baer and built with the assistance of Bob Tremblay, a technician who worked with Baer at Saunders. Though transistors were available, Baer, who had received his bachelor’s in television engineering, choose to use the familiar and proven technology of vacuum tubes for this early test unit.
Like all the Ralph Baer prototypes, TV Game Unit #1 was used as evidence in many patent infringement cases. It still bears many of the court exhibit labels left over from these trials, as may be seen from the photograph.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1966
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.01
accession number
2006.0102
catalog number
2006.0102.01
This ordinary piece of test equipment played an important role in video game history.In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates, Inc., engineer Ralph Baer began to look into new ways to use television, focusing specifically on interactive games.
Description
This ordinary piece of test equipment played an important role in video game history.
In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates, Inc., engineer Ralph Baer began to look into new ways to use television, focusing specifically on interactive games. Baer had received his bachelor’s in television engineering and was familiar with television test equipment that could meet his needs while keeping cost down. This Heathkit IG-62 Color Bar and Dot Generator, which was used to adjust television sets, provided the key circuitry needed to create an image on a television screen. This allowed Baer and his colleagues to devote their time and attention to develop a way for anyone to be able to move that image.
In 1967, Baer created the first of several video game test units. Called TVG#1 or TV Game Unit #1, the device, when used with an alignment generator like the Heathkit IG-62, produced a dot on the television screen that could be manually controlled by the user. Once they were able to interact with the television, Baer and his team could design increasingly sophisticated interfaces and programs.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Heathkit
ID Number
2006.0102.02
accession number
2006.0102
catalog number
2006.0102.02
This toy gun proves that target-shooting games were part of video game history from the very beginning.This lightgun was used to play the Target Practice game on the “Brown Box,” a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system.
Description
This toy gun proves that target-shooting games were part of video game history from the very beginning.
This lightgun was used to play the Target Practice game on the “Brown Box,” a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. Magnavox licensed the Brown Box and released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. The lightgun and four target games were later sold as a separate expansion package.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1967-1968
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.06
catalog number
2006.0102.06
accession number
2006.0102
The first video games were played on this machine.With the use of changing screen color and moving dots, TV Game Unit #2 allowed two players to compete against each other in seven different games.
Description
The first video games were played on this machine.
With the use of changing screen color and moving dots, TV Game Unit #2 allowed two players to compete against each other in seven different games. These games included a variety of chase games, a target-shooting game, and games that required the wooden handle attached to the unit’s lower right hand corner (see photograph). The handle was moved up and down, like a pump, in the course of certain games. In honor of this unusual game play, TV Game Unit #2 was rechristened “The Pump Unit.”
Baer and his team demonstrated the "Pump Unit" to Sanders senior management on June 15, 1967. The presentation was successful and now the team had a new goal: to turn this technology into a commercially viable product. After a few years and numerous test and advancements, Baer and his team delivered the “Brown Box,”[hyperlink] a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. It would be licensed to Magnavox, who released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972.
Like all the Ralph Baer prototypes, the "Pump Unit" was later used as evidence in many patent infringement cases. It still bears many of the court exhibit labels left over from these trials, as can be seen from the photograph.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1967
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.03
accession number
2006.0102
catalog number
2006.0102.03
This machine paved the way for the video games of today.In 1967, Ralph Baer and his colleagues at Sanders Associates, Inc. developed a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system.
Description
This machine paved the way for the video games of today.
In 1967, Ralph Baer and his colleagues at Sanders Associates, Inc. developed a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. Since Sanders hoped to license the technology for a commercial venture, Baer understood that the games had to be fun or investors and consumers would not be interested. In an oral history interview (copies available in the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History), Ralph Baer recalled, “The minute we played ping-pong, we knew we had a product. Before that we weren’t too sure.”
Originally called TV Game Unit #7, much like the "Pump Unit" before it, it became far better known by its nickname, “The Brown Box.” The name comes from the brown wood-grain, self-adhesive vinyl used to make the prototype look more attractive to potential investors. The "Brown Box," though only a prototype, had basic features that most video games consoles still have today: two controls and a multigame program system.
The "Brown Box" could be programmed to play a variety of games by flipping the switches along the front of the unit, as can be seen in the picture. Program cards were used to show which switches needed to be set for specific games. "Brown Box" games included ping-pong, checkers, four different sports games, target shooting with the use of a lightgun and a golf putting game, which required the use of a special attachment. Sanders licensed the "Brown Box" to Magnavox, which released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1967-1968
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
maker
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.04
catalog number
2006.0102.04
accession number
2006.0102
These oddly cut index cards are actually programs for the very first video games.These program cards were used with the “Brown Box,” prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system.
Description
These oddly cut index cards are actually programs for the very first video games.
These program cards were used with the “Brown Box,” prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. Users of the "Brown Box" could play a variety of games by flipping the switches along the front of the unit. The games included ping-pong, checkers, four different sports games, target shooting with the use of a lightgun and a golf putting game which required the use of a special attachment.
To play these games, the user placed one of these program cards between the two sets of switches on the "Brown Box" (as you can see in the picture). The dots on the card indicated in which position the switches should be set. Magnavox licensed the "Brown Box" and released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, with the switch system replaced by a plug-in game slot and plastic program cards.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1967
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.05
catalog number
2006.0102.05
accession number
2006.0102
What do you do after you invent the video game? Try to make it better!While preparing their video game system prototype, the “Brown Box” to be presented to potential investors, Ralph Baer and his colleague Bill Harrison created TV Game Unit #8.
Description
What do you do after you invent the video game? Try to make it better!
While preparing their video game system prototype, the “Brown Box” to be presented to potential investors, Ralph Baer and his colleague Bill Harrison created TV Game Unit #8. They wanted to demonstrate a more advanced technology that would allow the user’s paddle to determine, in the direction and speed of the game ball, when the two would collide. This would allow for games such as baseball and more realistic hockey game play.
This TV Game Unit #8 interfaced with the "Brown Box," but proved too expensive to pursue in these early stages. Since it was not going to be shown to investors just yet, it was never covered with brown wood grain self-adhesive vinyl to match the "Brown Box." A few years later, this technology was key when Baer and his colleagues started to design and build arcade games.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1968
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.07
catalog number
2006.0102.07
accession number
2006.0102
When most people think about the first video game, they think of Pong, the ping-pong arcade game released by Atari in 1972. However, months earlier, Magnavox had released its Magnavox Odyssey, a home video game system based on the “Brown Box,” a prototype invented by Ralph Baer.
Description
When most people think about the first video game, they think of Pong, the ping-pong arcade game released by Atari in 1972. However, months earlier, Magnavox had released its Magnavox Odyssey, a home video game system based on the “Brown Box,” a prototype invented by Ralph Baer. Additional games and accessories, like a lightgun, were sold in separate packages.
Since the Odyssey had limited graphic capabilities and displayed only a few small white blocks and a vertical line on the screen, Magnavox included translucent color overlays to provide settings and layouts for the games. Perhaps most surprising to modern gamers, the Odyssey also came with nonelectronic game accessories such as dice, decks of cards, play money, and poker chips. These accessories were possibly included to make the Odyssey more like the physical games that existed at the time.
With approximately 350,000 units sold, Magnavox Odyssey was not considered a commercial success, especially in comparison with Pong’s runaway popularity. Among the contributing factors, poor marketing played a large role. Many potential consumers were under the impression—sometimes encouraged by Magnavox salesmen—that Odyssey would only work on Magnavox television sets. Despite these setbacks, Magnavox Odyssey made its mark by starting the video game console industry.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1972
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
manufacturer
Magnavox Company
ID Number
2006.0102.08
catalog number
2006.0102.08
accession number
2006.0102
The Father of the Video Game was also the inventor of Simon.Inventor Ralph Baer is best known for developing the first video game system, but he accomplished far more.
Description
The Father of the Video Game was also the inventor of Simon.
Inventor Ralph Baer is best known for developing the first video game system, but he accomplished far more. In 1975, Baer started an independent consulting business and began to work in association with Marvin Glass & Associates in Chicago, the toy design firm responsible for some of the most successful American toys of the 20th century. Baer’s job was to develop electronic toys and games. The best-known result of this partnership was Simon.
Named for the children’s game of “Simon Says,” the game was inspired by an Atari arcade game called Touch Me. Baer and Howard Morrison, a partner at Marvin Glass, first saw Touch Me at a trade show in 1976. Both agreed that while the execution of the arcade game was horrible, the game itself—trying to repeat a musical sequence the machine created—was worthy of exploration. The two set about creating a handheld game around the same concept.
Like Touch Me, Simon had four different colored buttons. Each button played a unique note. Players had to be able to repeat an increasingly long string of tones that Simon created. If you got the order wrong, you lost. Baer was aware that choosing Simon’s four tones was a critical decision. He and Morrison both felt that one of Touch Me’s main failings was that its sounds were unpleasant.
But how to choose four notes that could be played in any sequence and not hurt the ears? Baer found the answer while looking through his children’s Compton's Encyclopedia. He discovered that the bugle can only plays four notes. So, Simon would play those same four bugle notes.
Simon was released by Milton Bradley in 1978 with much fanfare, including a midnight release party at Studio 54, the elite disco in New York City. An instance success, the game reached its peak during the 1980s and continued to sell for decades thereafter.
Baer was very careful to document in his patent application that Simon was based on Atari’s Touch Me, given his past history with the company. Years earlier, Atari was sued for patent rights infringement. At the center of the controversy were the video game prototypes invented by Ralph Baer. With Simon, Baer found himself on the other side of the story. His patent was to protect his innovations, rather than an original game idea.
Date made
1978
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
manufacturer
Milton Bradley Company
ID Number
2006.0102.09
catalog number
2006.0102.09
accession number
2006.0102
Ralph Baer is best known for developing the first video games, but he has accomplished more than that.In 1975, Baer, an engineer and inventor, started an independent consulting business and began to work in association with Marvin Glass & Associates in Chicago, the toy design fir
Description
Ralph Baer is best known for developing the first video games, but he has accomplished more than that.
In 1975, Baer, an engineer and inventor, started an independent consulting business and began to work in association with Marvin Glass & Associates in Chicago, the toy design firm responsible for some of the most successful American toys of the 20th century. Baer’s job was to develop electronic toys and games. The best-known result of this partnership was Simon.
In light of Simon’s success, Baer was asked by Marvin Glass to create another electronic game that was similar in nature. The result was Maniac, which was released by Ideal Toy Company in 1979. It was a multiple-player, sound-based game that required quick reflexes and the ability to identify and recall tonal sequences (rather than merely repeating them as they had with Simon). In an oral history interview (audio copies available in the National Museum of American History’s Archives Center), Baer admitted that the game was “really hard to play. You have to want to play games to want to play Maniac.” This could be the reason that Maniac never matched the popularity of Simon.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1979
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
manufacturer
Ideal Toy Company
ID Number
2006.0102.10
catalog number
2006.0102.10
accession number
2006.0102
This strange-looking contraption was actually used to play an early video game.To play the golf game on the “Brown Box,” a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system, Baer and his colleagues mounted a golf ball on a joystick handle.
Description
This strange-looking contraption was actually used to play an early video game.
To play the golf game on the “Brown Box,” a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system, Baer and his colleagues mounted a golf ball on a joystick handle. This allowed the player to use a real golf club to practice his or her putting skills. Magnavox licensed the "Brown Box" and released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. Though it was never produced commercially, the golf accessory was covered with brown wood-grain, self-adhesive vinyl so that it would match the "Brown Box."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1968
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
ID Number
2006.0102.11
accession number
2006.0102
catalog number
2006.0102.11

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.