Marconi, Guglielmo

Marconi, Guglielmo (1874-1937), Italian inventor.

As a young man, Guglielmo Marconi became interested in the electric telegraph invented by Samuel Morse and wondered if it was possible to send signals through the air without wires.

He worked night after night in his home outside Bologna and one night went in and woke his mother. To her amazement, he made a bell ring in one room by pressing a Morse key in another room. Yet there were no wires running between the two rooms. 'The bell is nine meters away and I have made it ring by passing a signal through space,' said Marconi. It was the first wireless signal in history.

At the time, Marconi was twenty. By 1896 he was able to send messages in Morse code over distances of up to 1.9 miles (3 km).

The government of Italy were not interested in his invention and he traveled to London with it. There, over the next few years, wireless came into use and its great value was shown in 1899. A steamer ran aground on the Goodwin Sands in the North Sea and the East Goodwin lightship sent a signal for help by wireless. All hands were rescued from the stranded ship.

By 1900 Marconi was sending messages more than 124 miles (200 kilometers) and on 12 December, 1901 he sent the first wireless message across the Atlantic from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Poldhu in Cornwall, England. Today there is a monument to Marconi on the cliffs at Poldhu.

In time, the microphone was invented. This made it possible to transmit speech and other sounds and radio joined wireless telegraphy. In 1922, the BBC began broadcasting in Britain.

Marconi kept working with wireless right through his life. He often met people who said, 'What a great deal of happiness radio has brought to so many people.' To this he replied, 'Can you compare entertainment with the saving of men's lives?'

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