Constantin Senlecq (Fauquembergues, 1842 â Ardres, 1934) was a French scientist and inventor who is credited with the invention of telectroscope. He worked independently of the American inventor George R. Carey, who came up with a similar idea at approximately the same time ( 1877âÂÂ1880). Telectroscope was the first prototype television. It used the photoconductive properties of selenium to transmit an image.