Marconi

Whether at home, at work or on the move, the average British adult spends over 20 hours a week listening to the radio. And much of the credit for its invention can be traced back to one man. Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy, but his pioneering work was first recognised – and patented – here in Britain. From a young age, Marconi experimented with using radio waves to transmit messages over long distances.

Unable to find an audience to take his work seriously at home, he moved to London in 1896. Within six months, he had secured the world’s first patent for a communication system baked on radio waves. The company he founded bore his name and went on to become one of the UK’s largest telecommunications and engineering companies. It was bought by Swedish firm Ericsson in 2005.

Image: Science photo library, Leverandør NTB Scanpix