1. Who Invented It? The Controversial History of Technology and Invention
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2. Wireless Telegraphy Marconi vs. Tesla
and Hertz
and Popov
and Henry
and Bose
and Lodge
and Stone
and Fessenden
and Edison
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References
Masini, Giancarlo, “Marconi”, Marsilio Publishers, New York 1976
Philbin, Tom, “100 Greatest Inventions of All Time”, Citadel Press, New York, 1993
Rybak, James P., “Oliver Lodge: Almost the Father of Radio”, Mesa State College, Grand Junction, CO
Eger, Christopher, “The Robot Boat of Nicola Tesla - The Beginnings of the UUV and remote control weapons”, Apr 1, 2007
Tesla US Patents 613,809; 645,576 and 649,621
Lodge US Patent 609,154
Marconi US Patents 676,332 and 586,193
for articles on Marconi, Tesla, Stone, Fennesen, Edison, the invention of radio, the history of radio
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4. Early Discoveries
Michael Faraday
1831 Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction; proposed that electromagnetic forces extended into the empty space around a conductor
: Maxwell developed his theory of electromagnetism, predicting electromagnetic waves
1884, Temistocle Calzecchi-Onesti invented a primitive device that responded to radio waves; a tube filled with iron filings, called a “coherer”; Improved by Eduourd Branly.
James Clerk Maxwell
Temistocle Calzecchi-Onesti
In 1831 Michael Faraday began a series of experiments in which he discovered electromagnetic induction. The relation was mathematically modeled by Faraday's law, which subsequently became one of the four Maxwell equations. Faraday proposed that electromagnetic forces extended into the empty space around the conductor but did not complete his work involving that proposal.
Between 1861 and 1865, based on the earlier experimental work of Faraday and other scientists, James Clerk Maxwell developed his theory of electromagnetism, which predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves. In 1873 Maxwell described the theoretical basis of the propagation of electromagnetic waves in his paper to the Royal Society, "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field.“
Calzecchi-Onesti - In 1884, Temistocle Calzecchi-Onesti at Fermo in Italy invented a primitive device that responded to radio waves. It consisted of a tube filled with iron filings, called a "coherer". This device was a critical discovery because it would later be developed to become the first practical radio detector.
Edison - In 1885, Edison took out U.S. Patent 465,971 on a system of radio communication between ships (which later he sold to Marconi). The patent, however, was not based on the transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves.
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Early Discoveries
Thomas Edison
1885: Edison patents a system of radio communication between ships (which later he sold to Marconi). The patent, was based on induction and not on electromagnetic waves.
1886 – 1888: Hertz demonstrated transmission and reception of the electromagnetic waves; the first person to transmit and receive radio. He saw no practical use for his discovery.
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
Edison - In 1885, Edison took out U.S. Patent 465,971 on a system of radio communication between ships (which later he sold to Marconi). The patent, was based on electromagnetic induction and not on the transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves.
Between 1886 and 1888, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz studied Maxwell's theory and validated it through experiment. He demonstrated the transmission and reception of the electromagnetic waves predicted by Maxwell and thus was the first person to intentionally transmit and receive radio. Famously, he saw no practical use for his discovery.
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Nikola Tesla
1891 – begins radio research, publishes "The True Wireless",
In "Experiments with Alternate Currents of High Potential and High Frequency", lecture in London.
St. Louis public demonstration of wireless radio communication; Franklin Institute and National Electric Light Association lectures described in detail the principles of radio communication.
In 1891 Tesla began his research into radio. He later published an article, "The True Wireless", concerning this research. In 1892 he gave a lecture called "Experiments with Alternate Currents of High Potential and High Frequency", in London. In 1893 at St. Louis Tesla gave a public demonstration of wireless radio communication. Addressing the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the National Electric Light Association, he described in detail the principles of radio communication.
The apparatus that Tesla used contained all the elements that were incorporated into radio systems before the development of the "oscillation valve", the early vacuum tube. Tesla initially used sensitive electromagnetic receivers, that were unlike the less responsive coherers later used by Marconi and other early experimenters.
Afterward, the principle of radio communication (sending signals through space to receivers) was publicized widely from Tesla's experiments and demonstrations. Various scientists, inventors, and experimenters began to investigate wireless methods.
In 1897, Tesla applied for protection for the radio arts. In 1900 Tesla was granted U.S. Patent 645,576[90] and U.S. Patent 649,621[91].
In 1898, demonstrated a radio controlled boat in Madison Square Garden that allowed secure communication between transmitter and receiver.
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7. Nikola Tesla
After his 1893 demonstrations the principle of radio were publicized widely.
In 1897 Tesla applied US radio patents. In 1900 he was granted U.S. Patents 645,576 and 649,621.
demonstrated a radio controlled boat in Madison Square Garden that included secure communication.
Afterward, the principle of radio communication (sending signals through space to receivers) was publicized widely from Tesla's experiments and demonstrations. Various scientists, inventors, and experimenters began to investigate wireless methods.
In 1897, Tesla applied for protection for the radio arts. In 1900 Tesla was granted U.S. Patent 645,576 and U.S. Patent 649,621.
His radio controlled boat used methods he patented in 1898 in US patent 613,809 for control of engines and steering for boats.

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Oliver Lodge
1888 Lodge transmitted and received the electromagnetic waves predicted by Maxwell 24 years earlier
1894: Lodge transmitted radio waves at the British Assoc. for the Advancement of Science at Oxford and received Morse code via radio waves
1898 – Lodge US patent on “Electric Telegraphy”. In 1912 Lodge sold the patent to Marconi.
In 1888 while researching lightning Oliver Lodge transmitted and received electromagnetic waves which Maxwell predicted 24 years earlier. While on vacation he read of Heinrich Hertz’ similar work. On August 14, 1894 (one year after Tesla, five years after Hertz and one year before Marconi) he demonstrated radio at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Oxford University. (In 1995, the Royal Society recognized this scientific breakthrough at a special ceremony at Oxford University. For more information, see Past Years: An Autobiography, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p231.)
On 19 August 1894 Lodge demonstrated the reception of Morse code signaling via radio waves using a "coherer". He improved Edouard Branly's coherer radio wave detector by adding a "trembler" which dislodged clumped filings, thus restoring the device's sensitivity. In August 1898 he got U.S. Patent 609,154, "Electric Telegraphy", that made wireless signals using Ruhmkorff coils or Tesla coils for the transmitter and a Branly coherer for the detector. This was key to the "syntonic" tuning concept. In 1912 Lodge sold the patent to Marconi.
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Bose and Popov
Jagdish Chandra Bose
1894 – Jagdish Chandra Bose gave a public demonstration of radio in Calcutta; was not interested in patenting his work. In 1895 he sent and received radio waves over a mile.
Popov public demonstration of radio at the Russian Physical and Chemical Society; the day has since been celebrated in Russia as "Radio Day". He did not patent this invention.
Popov demonstrated radio between campus buildings. By other accounts, Popov did this in 1897 after publication of Marconi's patent. He credited Tesla’s demonstrations in 1893 over Marconi’s and his own work.
Alexander Popov
In November 1894, the Indian physicist, Jagdish Chandra Bose, demonstrated publicly the use of radio waves in Calcutta, but he was not interested in patenting his work.[11] Bose ignited gunpowder and rang a bell at a distance using electromagnetic waves, proving that communication signals can be sent without using wires. He was thus the first to send and receive radio waves over a significant distance but did not commercially exploit this achievement.
The 1895 public demonstration by Bose in Calcutta was before Marconi's wireless signaling experiment on Salisbury Plain in England in May In 1896, the Daily Chronicle of England reported on his UHF experiments: "The inventor (J.C. Bose) has transmitted signals to a distance of nearly a mile and herein lies the first and obvious and exceedingly valuable application of this new theoretical marvel.“ Met Marconi in England in 1896 where Bose was working.
On May 7, 1895, Russian physicist Alexander Popov performed a public demonstration of transmission and reception of radio waves used for communication at the Russian Physical and Chemical Society, this day has since been celebrated in Russia as "Radio Day". He did not apply for a patent for this invention. Popov's early experiments were transmissions of only 600 yards. In 1896 Popov demonstrated in public the transmission of radio waves, between different campus buildings, to the Saint Petersburg Physical Society. (This was before the public demonstration of the Marconi system around September 1896.) Per other accounts, however, Popov achieved these results only in December that is, after publication of Marconi's patent. In 1900, Popov stated at the Congress of Russian Electrical Engineers that,
"the emission and reception of signals by Marconi by means of electric oscillations was nothing new, as in America Nikola Tesla did the same experiments in 1893.“ experimented with ship-to-shore comms; died in 1905; his claim was not pressed by the Russian govt until 1945.
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10. Fessenden and de Moura
Fessenden began working directly for Edison; quickly made major advances in receiver design, worked to develop sound reception.
working for the United States Weather Bureau; successfully transmitted speech in December over a mile. Invented heterodyning.
1893 – 1894: Roberto Landell de Moura, a Brazilian priest and scientist, conducted experiments. He held a public demonstration of a wireless transmission of voice in São Paulo, Brazil in 1900.
Reginald Fessenden
Roberto Landell de Moura
1886, Reginald Fessenden began working directly for Edison at the inventor's new laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey. Fessenden quickly made major advances, especially in receiver design, as he worked to develop audio reception of signals. By 1900, Fessenden was working for the United States Weather Bureau where he evolved the heterodyne principle where two signals combined produce a third audible tone. While there, Fessenden, experimenting with a high-frequency spark transmitter, successfully transmitted speech on December 23, 1900 over a distance of about 1.6 kilometers (one mile), the first audio radio transmission.
Between 1893 and 1894, Roberto Landell de Moura, a Brazilian priest and scientist, conducted experiments in wireless transmissions. He did not publicize his achievement until 1900, when he held a public demonstration of a wireless transmission of voice in São Paulo, Brazil
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Guglielmo Marconi
1894 – Briefly studied “Hertzian waves” under Augusto Righi, at University of Bologna. Read Oliver Lodge’s 1894 detailed accounts of his apparatus and public demonstrations.
Moved outdoors; increased antenna lengths, arranging them vertically, and grounded one of the antennas. Range increased significantly.
1896 – Moved to England seeking support, obtained British patent on his work; met Jagdish Chandra Bose.
Salisbury Plain demonstration nearly 4mi; open water demonstration nearly 10mi.
In 1888 Hertz demonstrated electromagnetic radiation: "radio waves“, then known as "Hertzian waves" or "aetheric waves". Hertz's death in 1894 brought published reviews of his earlier discoveries, and a renewed interest on the part of Marconi. He briefly studied the subject under Augusto Righi, a University of Bologna physicist and neighbor of Marconi who had done research on Hertz's work. Righi had a subscription to The Electrician where Oliver Lodge published detailed accounts of the apparatus used in Lodge's public demonstrations of wireless telegraphy in 1894.
At first, Marconi could only signal over limited distances. In the summer of 1895 he moved his experiments outdoors. He increased the length of the transmitter and receiver antennas, arranging them vertically, and positioning the antenna so that it touched the ground. The range increased significantly: could transmit over a hill, a distance of approximately nearly a mile. He concluded that with additional funding he could reach greater distances and would prove valuable both commercially and militarily.
In 1896 at age 21, Marconi traveled to London, seeking support. He gained the interest and support of William Preece, the Chief Electrical Engineer of the British Post Office. The apparatus that Marconi possessed at that time was strikingly similar to that of one in 1882 by A. E. Dolbear, of Tufts College, which used a spark coil generator and a carbon granular rectifier for reception. A series of demonstrations for the British government followed—by March 1897, Marconi had transmitted Morse code signals over a distance of about 6km (3.7 mi) across the Salisbury Plain. In May 1897 Marconi sent the first wireless communication over open sea a distance of 6 km; the range to soon increased to 16km (9.9 mi).
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Guglielmo Marconi
tests at La Spezia for the Italian government; began filing US patents
1899 – Transmission across the English Channel; first US demonstrations reporting the America's Cup races off NJ.
1901 – claimed transatlantic transmission- this is disputed by many.
1902 transatlantic transmission and ship-to-shore communication; not reliable until about 1907
Marconi began to receive international attention. In July 1897, he carried out a series of tests at La Spezia in Italy, for the Italian government. The English Channel was crossed on in March 1899 and in the fall of 1899, the first demonstrations in the United States took place, reporting of the America's Cup international yacht races off Sandy Hook, NJ.
1901, using a 500 ft kite-supported antenna for reception, transmitted from Cornwall, UK to St John's, Newfoundland. No independent confirmation and the transmissions, consisting of the Morse code letter S sent repeatedly, were difficult to distinguish from atmospheric noise. After being told of Marconi's reported transmission Nikola Tesla, a rival in transatlantic transmission, stated that "Marconi [... was] using seventeen of my patents."
In February 1902, the SS Philadelphia sailed west from Great Britain with Marconi aboard, carefully recording signals sent daily from the Cornwall station. The test results produced Morse reception up to 1,551mi, and audio reception up to 2,099mi. Marconi had not fully confirmed the Newfoundland claims, but he did prove radio signals could be sent for hundreds of miles, not just line-of-sight distances.
On 17 December 1902, a transmission from the Marconi station in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, became the first radio message to cross the Atlantic from North America. On 18 January 1903, a Marconi station built near South Wellfleet, Massachusetts in 1901 sent a message of greetings from Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. This station also was one of the first to receive the distress signals coming from the RMS Titanic. However, consistent transatlantic signaling was difficult to establish.
Marconi began to build high-powered stations on both sides of the Atlantic to communicate with ships at sea, in competition with other inventors. In 1904 a commercial service was established to transmit nightly news summaries to subscribing ships, which could incorporate them into their on-board newspapers. A regular transatlantic radio-telegraph service was finally begun on 17 October 1907 between Clifden Ireland and Glace Bay, but even after this the company struggled for many years to provide reliable communication.
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13. John Stone; Nikola Tesla
1902, 1903 – John Stone obtains important patents on tuning circuits that prevent interference between radio transmissions
1903 – Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower nears completion - claimed it is part of a World System of transmitters, for secure multichannel transceiving of information, universal navigation, time synchronization, and a global location system.
John Stone Stone obtained a group of patents covering a system of selective wireless telegraphy free from interference and in 1903 he received a patent covering the first application of the principles of electrical resonance to useful arts. The most important feature of the Stone system of wireless telegraphy is its selectivity and immunity from interference. The great drawback to wireless telegraphy in the past was its uncertainty due to the interference by atmospheric electricity, as well as by the signals of nearby stations. Like the telephone in its early days, wireless telegraphy was operative only when outside conditions were favorable, and for that reason its use was restricted almost entirely to ships at sea and between ships at sea and the shore. The only efficient means of preventing such interference in the wireless telegraph was Stone's selective transmitter and receiver.
1903 – Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower neared completion. Various theories exist on how Tesla intended to achieve the goals of this wireless system (reportedly, a 200 kW system). Tesla claimed that Wardenclyffe, as part of a World System of transmitters, would have allowed secure multichannel transceiving of information, universal navigation, time synchronization, and a global location system.
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Tesla vs. Marconi
1896 – Marconi’s “four tuned circuits” patent in the UK, reissued in the US in 1900; additional US patents 1901.
Tesla applied for US patents, granted in 1900 included a four tuned circuit design – first to invent.
U.S. Patent Office reverses its decision, awarding Marconi a patent for the invention of radio. This allowed the US government to avoid royalties charged by Tesla.
1911 – Oliver Lodge sues Marconi and wins. Marconi buys the Lodge patents.
Tesla applied for protection for the radio arts. In 1900 Tesla was granted U.S. Patent 645,576 and U.S. Patent 649,621.
Marconi’s equipment was limited by being untuned, which greatly limited the number of spark-gap radio transmitters which could operate in a geographical area without interference. Marconi addressed this defect with a patent application for a sophisticated "four-circuit" design, which featured two tuned-circuits at both the transmitting and receiving antennas. This was issued as British patent number 7,777 on 26 April However, this patent came after significant earlier work had been done on electrical tuning by Nikola Tesla and Oliver Lodge.
The U.S. Patent Office reversed its decision, awarding Marconi a patent for the invention of radio, possibly influenced by Marconi's financial backers in the States, who included Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie. This also allowed the U.S. government (among others) to avoid having to pay the royalties that were being claimed by Tesla for use of his patents. In 1907, Marconi established the first commercial transatlantic radio communications service, between Clifden, Ireland and Glace Bay, Newfoundland.
As a defensive move, in 1911 the Marconi Company purchased the Lodge-Muirhead Syndicate, whose primary asset was Oliver Lodge's 1897 tuning patent. This followed a 1911 court case in which the Marconi company was ruled to have illegally used the techniques described under Lodge's tuning patent. Thus, Marconi’s "four-sevens" patent and its equivalents in other countries was the subject of numerous legal challenges, with rulings varied by jurisdiction, from full validation of Marconi's tuning patent (UK 1943) to complete nullification (US 1943)
Marconi’s transatlantic stations at Clifden, Ireland and Glace Bay, Newfoundland
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Tesla vs. Marconi
US Supreme Court finds Marconi’s tuned circuit patent showed no invention over John Stone (1902-3), Oliver Lodge (1894), and Tesla (1893). At the time, the US Army was involved in a patent infringement lawsuit with Marconi's company.
The British High Court of Justice upheld Marconi's tuning patent.
In 1943 a lawsuit regarding Marconi's US radio patents was resolved by the United States Supreme Court, who overturned most of these. The court found Marconi showed no invention over Stone by making the tuning of his antenna circuit adjustable, or by using Lodge's variable inductance for that purpose. The court decision was based on the proven prior work conducted by others, such as by Nikola Tesla, Oliver Lodge, and John Stone Stone, from which some of Marconi patents stemmed. At the time, the United States Army was involved in a patent infringement lawsuit with Marconi's company regarding radio, leading various observers to posit that the government nullified Marconi's other patents in order to moot any claims for compensation (as, it is speculated, the government's initial reversal to grant Marconi the patent right in order to nullify any claims Tesla had for compensation).
In contrast to the United States system, Mr. Justice Parker of the British High Court of Justice upheld Marconi's "four-sevens" tuning patent. These proceedings made up only a part of a long series of legal struggles, as major corporations jostled for advantage in a new and important industry.
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16. Tesla vs. Marconi Priority of Marconi and Tesla US Patents
Marconi dies
Tesla
Priority of Marconi and Tesla US Patents
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17. Tesla vs. Marconi

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Tesla and Marconi
Tesla died alone of heart failure in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel, on 7 January 1943, age 86.
Despite having sold his AC electricity patents, Tesla died with significant debts
Later that year the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's patent recognizing him as the inventor of radio.
shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Braun
1914 – was made a Senator in the Italian Senate
WWI - placed in charge of the Italian military radio service
Joined the Fascist party, and in 1930 Mussolini appointed him President of the Royal Academy of Italy, and member of the Fascist Grand Council.
Marconi died in Rome in 1937 at age 63 following a series of heart attacks; Italy held a state funeral for him.
Tesla died of heart failure alone in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel, on 7 January Despite having sold his AC electricity patents, Tesla died with significant debts on the books. Later that year the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's patent number , in effect recognizing him as the inventor of radio.
In 1909, Marconi shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Braun for his contributions to radio communications.
In 1914 Marconi was made a Senator in the Italian Senate and appointed Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the UK. During World War I, Italy joined the Allied side of the conflict, and Marconi was placed in charge of the Italian military's radio service. He attained the rank of lieutenant in the Italian Army and of commander in the Italian Navy. In 1924, he was made a marquess by King Victor Emmanuel III.
Marconi joined the Italian Fascist party in In 1930, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini appointed him President of the Royal Academy of Italy, which made Marconi a member of the Fascist Grand Council.
Marconi died in Rome in 1937 at age 63 following a series of heart attacks, and Italy held a state funeral for him. As a tribute, all radio stations throughout the world observed two minutes of silence.
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