Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937)

Famous For: Works Radio and Wireless telegraphy

This Italian inventor is known for his pioneering work on the radiotelegraph system, which eventually led to him being recognized as the inventor of the radio. He received the Nobel Prize in 1909 along with Karl Ferdinand Braun for their contribution to the world of wireless innovations.

In 1900 he took out his famous patent No. 7777 for “tuned or syntonic telegraphy” and, on a historic day in December 1901, determined to prove that wireless waves were not affected by the curvature of the Earth, he used his system for transmitting the first wireless signals across the Atlantic between Poldhu, Cornwall, and St. John’s, Newfoundland, a distance of 2100 miles. In 1902, he patented his magnetic detector, which then became the standard wireless receiver for many years.

In 1931 Marconi began research into the propagation characteristics of still shorter waves (0.5 meters), resulting in the opening in 1932 of the world’s first microwave radiotelephone link between the Vatican City and the Pope’s summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.