After 280 millions tubes sold, Trinitron will be officially dead this month. Few Sony inventions have had the same gravitational pull as their Trinitron display technology, perhaps only second to the Walkman. Trinitron became a synonym of the best quality TV sets and computer monitors on the planet, despite the thin cables that secured its aperture grille in place. This timeline shows TV history since 1873, how color TV became a reality in the '40s, and how Sony became the king of TV, with more than 100 million sets sold by 1994, to later fall under the weight of plasma and LCD technologies:

Click on the image above to see the full high resolution version

[Wikipedia and Sony Japan]

For other Gizmodo timelines, check:

• Requiem: the Analog Cellphone Timeline
• LEGO Brick Timeline: 50 Years of Building Frenzy and Curiosities
• 100 Years of Tech in the Times Square New Year's Ball

Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.