About 50 years ago, during the year 1935, decisions were taken which led to the establishment, in the UK, of the world's first, public, regular, high-definition, all-electronic television system. The first suggestion for transmitting images (of printed texts) from one place to another was made by Bain in 1843. Subsequently Bakewell (1848), Caselli (1862), Meyer (1869), d'Arlincourt (1872) and others devised methods which enabled images of maps, diagrams, messages and sketches to be sent from one place to another. However the early commercial ventures were not a success. The discovery in 1873 of the photoconductive effect of selenium led to numerous suggestions for ‘seeing by electricity’ but the first demonstration of rudimentary television was not given until over 50 years later when Baird, in 1925, succeeded in transmitting and receiving low-definition images. In both the UK and the USA, particularly, various aspects of low-definition television were demonstrated, principally by Baird and Bell Laboratories. By the late 1920s it was evident that such television could not give rise to a generally acceptable television service. From c.1930, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) undertook extensive investigations on all-electronic television systems. The paper outlines some of the factors which led to the birth of the British 405-line television station at Alexandra Palace in 1936.