Allen B. DuMont supervised electron tube production for Westinghouse starting in 1924. In 1931 he founded his own company in Montclair, NJ. In 1932 he invented the "Magic Eye" cathode ray tube, and sold the rights to RCA. In 1933 he invented an early form of radar, which he was asked to keep secret (not patent) by the U.S. military. In 1934, DuMont Labs moved to Passaic, NJ.

DuMont sold the first all-electronic TV (Model 180) in the U.S. in 1938. DuMont was an influential member of the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC). In 1946, the DuMont TV Network was established, with stations WABD (New York) and WTTG (Washington D.C.). The DuMont Network eventually grew to 200 stations and was sold to Metromedia in 1956. DuMont Labs produced high quality (and expensive) TVs until 1958, when the consumer products business was sold to Emerson. Notable models include the "Royal Sovereign" with its 30-inch CRT. DuMont's cathode ray tube division was sold to Fairchild Camera and Instrument in 1960 to become the A. B. DuMont Division of Fairchild, which developed the Sony Trinitron CRT under contract.