James Fergason (born Wakenda, Missouri, January 12, 1934) is an inventor of an improved Liquid Crystal Display, or LCD.
After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in physics from the University of Missouri in 1956, Fergason began his work on the practical uses of liquid crystals at the Westinghouse Research Laboratories in Pennsylvania, earning his first patent ( ) in 1963. Fergason was granted a US patent for a liquid crystal display that utilized the twisted nematic field effect (TN effect) that was originally filed in Switzerland by Hoffmann-LaRoche in December 1970. These TN displays were superior to the earlier dynamic scattering displays, and soon became widely spread.
Two years later, he left Westinghouse and formed his own company, ILIXCO, to manufacture these improved liquid crystal displays. His first customer was the Gruen watch company of Switzerland, which used the technology to market the first LCD watches using this technology. By the end of the decade, most of the world's digital watches used this kind of LCD display.
Today, Fergason holds over 150 patents in the United States and over 500 foreign patents. He also has been recently inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 2001, he founded Fergason Patent Properties, which managed licensing of his patents.
