Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer who pioneered the practical development of wireless telegraphy, or radio . His transmission of the first wireless signals across the Atlantic Ocean ushered in the era of long-distance communication around the world.
Early Life and Education
Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy, on April 25, 1874. His father was Giuseppe Marconi, a wealthy Italian landowner, and his mother was Annie Jameson of Castle Daphne in County Wexford, Ireland.
He received his education first in Bologna and then in Florence. He then attended the Livorno Technical School (Leghorn Technical School), where he studied physics. From childhood, he was interested in physics and electrical sciences, studying the work of scientists such as Maxwell, Hertz, Righi, and Lodge. At the age of 20, he focused on the work of Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894), who discovered and first produced radio waves in 1888.
Marconi married the Hon. Beatrice O'Brien, daughter of the 14th Baron Inchiquin, in 1905; this marriage was annulled in 1927. That same year, he married Countess Bezzi-Scali of Rome. He had a son and two daughters by his first wife and a daughter by his second.
Guglielmo Marconi (Picryl)
Development of Wireless Telegraphy
Marconi believed that wireless human communication using radio waves was possible. In late 1894, he began laboratory experiments at Villa Griffone, his father's country house in Pontecchio, Bologna.
- Early Experiments (1895): In 1895, he refined his device and transmitted electrical signals over the air from one end of his house to the other, and from there to his garden. He improved upon Hertz's device and extended the transmission distance to over a mile and a half (about 2.4 km). These experiments marked the beginning of practical wireless telegraphy, or radio.
- First Patent (1896): In January 1896, he considered applying for a patent for his invention and traveled to Britain in February. With the guidance of his cousin, Henry Jameson Davis, he submitted final specifications for his first patent, for a telegraph system using Hertzian waves. British Patent No. 12039 was filed on June 2, 1896.
- Demonstrations in England: He demonstrated his device to the Post Office in July 1896, and on 2 September of that year gave a historic demonstration at Three Mile Hill on Salisbury Plain, attended by officials from the General Post Office, the Navy, and the Army. He also demonstrated these to the Chief Engineer of the Post Office, Mr. (later Sir) William Preece.
- Increased Range: Returned to Salisbury Plain in 1897, reaching a range of 7 miles (11.2 km). Later that year, it established communications across the Bristol Channel; a fourth attempt, using an antenna 92 metres (300 ft) high and a 0.5 metre (20 in) spark coil, achieved a range of 8.7 miles (14 km). Experiments on the Isle of Wight succeeded in establishing communication with a station at Bournemouth on the mainland.
- International Communications: In 1897, Marconi demonstrated to the Italian Government in Spezia, sending wireless signals over a distance of twelve miles (about 19 km). In 1899, he established wireless communication between France and England across the English Channel.
Company Establishment and Developments
Following his demonstration of his wireless telegraph system, Marconi founded The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company Limited, registered in July 1897. In December 1898, the world's first wireless factory was built in a former silk mill on Hall Street in Chelmsford, a relatively short distance from London and accessible by train. The company was renamed Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company Limited in 1900.
Guglielmo Marconi (Picryl)
Major Inventions and Transatlantic Success
Marconi received patent 7777 for the "tuned or syntonic telegraph" in 1900. This patent documented a system for tuned connected circuits, allowing simultaneous transmissions on different frequencies, allowing neighboring stations to operate without interference and increasing range.
The idea for the Transatlantic Signal arose following the success of Marconi's experiments at home; he was determined to disprove the theory that wireless waves were unaffected by the Earth's curvature. The transmitting station in England was built at Poldhu in Cornwall, 100 times more powerful than previous stations, and the receiving station was located on Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland.
On December 12, 1901, he successfully received the three-dot signal of the Morse code letter 'S' (three times) sent from Poldhu across the ocean. This was the first wireless signal to be transmitted over a distance of 2,100 miles (approximately 3,379 km). News of this achievement spread worldwide and was hailed by scientists, including Thomas Edison.
Later inventions included his first demonstration of the "day effect" in wireless communication during a voyage on the American ship Philadelphia in 1902, and in the same year he patented his magnetic detector, which became the standard wireless receiver for many years. He also patented the horizontal directional antenna in 1905. Full Transatlantic Messages occurred in December 1902, when the first complete messages were transmitted to Poldhu from stations in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. These early tests led to the opening of the first commercial transatlantic service between Glace Bay and Clifden, Ireland, in 1907.
The Life-Saving Role of Wireless Communication
From the outset, Marconi hoped that his system would break the isolation of those at sea and provide a way to summon help. The first lifesaving incident occurred in 1899, when the lightship East Goodwin, equipped with Marconi wireless equipment, received a wireless message after being struck by a steamer in dense fog, prompting the call for a lifeboat.
The SS Republic Collision occurred in January 1909; when the SS Republic collided with the Italian steamer Florida off the US East Coast, Marconi radio operator Jack Binns on board the Republic directed rescue ships to its location, enabling the rescue of more than 1,700 people, not including those killed in the initial impact.
During the Titanic Disaster (1912), when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on April 14, 1912, survivors were rescued thanks to distress calls from the ship's Marconi wireless equipment. Postmaster General Lord Samuel at the time said, "The survivors are indebted to one man, Mr. Marconi, and his wonderful invention."
Further Studies and Other Areas
As part of his Beam System (1924), Marconi developed shortwave directional transmission aboard his floating laboratory, the Elettra. This development, known as the Beam System, laid the foundation for the Imperial Wireless Chain and was adopted by Canada, Australia, South Africa, and India, establishing a global presence in communications. The system was also adopted by the British Government, and the first beam station, connecting England and Canada, opened in 1926. In the field of microwave communications and radar, Marconi began investigating the propagation properties of shorter waves in 1931. In 1932, he personally supervised the installation of the world's first microwave radiotelephone link, connecting the Vatican to Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer residence. Two years later, he demonstrated the microwave radio beacon for ship navigation in Sestri Levante. In 1935, he gave a practical demonstration of radar principles in Italy; he had first envisioned radar in a 1922 lecture to the American Institute of Radio Engineers in New York. Marconi's company was also a pioneer in radio broadcasting in the UK. On 15 June 1920, Britain's first publicly advertised broadcast, a song recital by Dame Nellie Melba, was broadcast using a 15 kW telephone transmitter at Marconi's premises in Chelmsford. In 1921, the company broadcast its first regular public entertainment programme from Writtle, near Chelmsford, and later from its first London station at Marconi House. In 1922, all competing broadcasting interests were merged to form the British Broadcasting Company, which would later become the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). In 1934, Marconi's television operations were merged with EMI Ltd. to form the Marconi-EMI Television Co. Ltd. This system was adopted by the BBC in 1936 for its public high-definition television service, a world first.
Awards and Honors
He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics (1909) with Professor Karl Ferdinand Braun for the development of wireless telegraphy. In terms of military and political duties, he became a Senator in the Italian Senate in 1914. That same year, he became a Lieutenant in the Italian Army, later rising to the rank of Captain, and Commander of the Naval Forces in 1916. In 1919, he was sent as a delegate to the Peace Conference in Paris, where he signed peace treaties with Austria and Bulgaria.
For his wartime services, he received the Italian Military Medal in 1919. He received numerous other honors, including the Royal Society of Arts' Albert Medal, the John Fritz Medal, and the Kelvin Medal. He was awarded the Order of St. Anne by the Tsar of Russia, Commander of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus by the King of Italy, and the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1902. In terms of honors, he was made an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Victoria in the United Kingdom in 1914 and was granted the hereditary title of Marchese in 1929. Finally, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1975.
Death
He died in Rome in the early hours of July 20, 1937, at the age of 63. He was interred in a mausoleum on the grounds of the Villa Griffone. In fitting tribute, radio stations around the world fell silent for two minutes.
