Hobart M. Kraner, Fellow and Past President (1949-50) of the American Ceramic Society, is best known for his work with refractory ceramics performed while at Bethlehem Steel Corporation (1935-1964). From 1926 to 1927, Kraner and Vladimir Zworykin, the inventor of television, worked together to develop the first synthetic fluorescent and phosphorescent materials for the manufacture of television tubes. The factors and events that led to this development are discussed.