Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian engineer, physicist, and inventor. Marconi successfully invented the long-distance wireless telegraph and the radio signal. He majorly contributed to the development of the radio and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909.
GUGLIELMO MARCONI EARLY LIFE
Guglielmo Marconi was born in 1874 in Bologna, Italy to
Giuseppe Marconi and Anne Jameson. Both his parents were working. His family
had to travel a lot due to their silk business. During these trips, Marconi was
tutored by different people.
GUGLIELMO MARCONI EDUCATION
For the first few years, he was educated privately in
Bologna. He studied languages. Marconi started to read various books on science
and electricity. He completed his education at the Livorno Technical Institute
and then went to the University of Bologna. He developed an interest in of
electricity at a very young age. He performed many experiments in a small room
in his house. After he completed his education, he entirely focused on his
electricity-related projects. His family was very supportive of his interest, especially
his mother.
GUGLIELMO MARCONI DISCOVERY AND INVENTIONS
Marconi's work heavily influenced Heinrich Hertz. He was
amazed by Hertz’s discovery of invisible waves, created by electromagnetic
interactions called ‘Hertzian waver’. Marconi was only fourteen when he first
heard of Hertz's work.
In 1895, he developed a communication mode that made
wireless radio signaling possible So, he set up a laboratory in his father's
home for his experiments. His university professor helps Marconi with his
experiments. At the age of 21, he performed his first successful experiment. He
sent different signals over a distance of more than one mile.
At the age of 22,
Marconi traveled to England with his mother. He found some interested sponsors for
his experiments. One of them was the British Post Office. London was the
commercial and financial hub of England. He wanted to show his experiments to
the public who could buy them. Marconi met Preece, who was impressed by his
experiments and decided to help him financially.
Marconi performed the first experiment on the rooftops of
two buildings in London, which was a success. In 1896, Marconi got the patent
for wireless telegraphy. The same year, he decided to open his own company.
With the help of his family, he started Wireless Telegraphy & Signal Company
Limited. Marconi built the first radio station of the world in 1897. And the
next year, he created the world's first wireless telegraph factory in England.
At the end of the eighteenth century, Marconi sent signals
across the English Channel and established wireless communication between
France and England. In 1901, he sent the most powerful radio signal broadcast.
He made an antenna attached to the balloon. He was the first person to pick up the
faint three-dot sequence of the Morse code letter 's'. In 1908, Marconi set up
a service to send telegrams between the UK and Canada. It was the first
commercial use of wireless services.
GUGLIELMO MARCONI ACHEIVEMENTS
In 1909, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, which he
shared with Ferdinand Braun. Marconi had many of his inventions patented; one
being the 'magnetic detector'. It was used as a standard wireless receiver for
many years.
In the beginning, most of Marconi's inventions were rejected
by the Italian government. The Italian government later realized how they had
failed to respect such a great scientist.
Marconi also served in the Italian navy and army as a
lieutenant. During World War I, he helped the military with his wireless
services. He started developing shortwave radio technology. He called it
the 'Marconi Radio' and installed it on ships.
For his significant contribution to science and technology,
he was not only awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics but was also honored with
the Albert Medal, the Kelvin Medal, and the John Fritz Medal.
GUGLIELMO MARCONI DEATH
Marconi married twice and was the father of five children.
He died on July 20, 1937, at the age of 63, after he suffered from multiple
heart attacks. As a tribute, radio stations in America, England, and Italy
broadcasted a few minutes of silence for the great inventor.
