David Sarnoff (1891–1971) was an American businessman who had a major influence on the development of radio broadcasting and television in the United States. He worked for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in several leadership roles from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his retirement in 1970.

He led a group of telecommunications and media companies, including RCA and NBC, which grew to become one of the largest conglomerates in the world. In 1945, Sarnoff was named a Reserve Brigadier General in the Signal Corps. After receiving this title, he preferred to be called “The General” and addressed as “General Sarnoff.”

Sarnoff was photographed on this day, November 2, in 1946. Karsh photographed 45 people on any given November 2 across six decades. According to the records, on the same day as he photographed Sarnoff, Karsh also photographed Rodin’s “The Thinker” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, for Wisdom Magazine.