David Sarnoff was born in Minsk, Russia. Sarnoff's serious adult demeanor evolved from a childhood of poverty and hardship. His family suffered through Cossack raids and repression that characterized life for millions of Jewish people in Russia. From the time he was four years of age, Sarnoff was drilled on the Torah and the Talmud because his parents hoped that he would become a rabbi. The family emigrated to the United States in 1900, first settling in Albany, New York, and then moving to New York City. After he arrived in the United States, however, Sarnoff's life took on the characteristics of a Horatio Alger story. His father's poor health meant young Sarnoff became head of the family. He began selling Yiddish newspapers, taking English lessons, and delivering telegraph messages.

After being fired from a telegraph delivery job because he requested time off from work...