First, take note that recognition generally springs out of a pressing public need. The Salk vaccine, for example. And Dr. Salk certainly gained full-blown international recognition. If someone invents a cure for cancer, recognition is guaranteed. As I had done a two-part series on Lee de Forest about a year ago, it seemed that the Farnsworth story, which Pollak covers in his article, would miss the mark.
History agrees with that.
Moreover, de Forest does not even mention Philo Farnsworth. Furthermore, de Forest has very credible television credentials. Here's the story in a nutshell. Keep in mind, and as Pollak points out, the public understood the meaning of TV and wanted it. He succeeded in showing only a burred image on a CRT because the vacuum-tube amplifier had not been invented yet.