MARCONI'S WIRELESS TELEGRAPH CO., LTD. In 1896 Guglielmo Marconi, then a young and unknown Italian inventor, came to England and took out the first patent for wireless telegraphy by means of Hertzian waves. On July 20, 1897, the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Co., Ltd., was formed to acquire Marconi's patents and develop them commercially. In 1900 the name of the company was changed to Marconi's Wire less Telegraph Co., Ltd., under which name it has remained registered. In 1899 Marconi succeeded in establishing communi cation between England and France. This was followed by the transmission of signals across the Atlantic, an achievement which laid the foundations of world-wide wireless communication. These successes led to a considerable extension of the com mercial activities of the Marconi company. The Marconi Inter national Marine Communication company was formed in 1900 to develop marine wireless, and, as time went on, wireless com panies were formed by the Marconi company in the British Dominions and in other countries throughout the The invention of the thermionic valve has revolutionized the design of wireless apparatus. The Marconi company rapidly evolved new apparatus using thermionic valves, various types of which now cover the requirements of many fields of communica tion. This development opened the way for the practical trans
mission of music and speech, and between Feb. 23 and March 6, 1920, the first broadcasting of musical items in England took place from the Marconi company's works at Chelmsford. Regular broadcasting of music and speech was instituted from Marconi stations at Writtle, Chelmsford, in 1921, and Marconi house, London, in 1922 before the establishment of the British Broad casting company, now the British Broadcasting Corporation (B.B.C.), which began its activities in 1922.
One of the latest developments in wireless telegraphy is the short-wave beam system which has revolutionized long distance wireless communication. During 1926 and 1927 beam stations for communicating between Great Britain and Canada, Australia, South Africa and India, U.S.A. and South America were built. Beam stations have also been built in other countries, and this system is fast replacing the long-wave high-power system for long distance communication. The beam system has made it possible to transmit wireless telephone messages over great dis tances at much lower cost. (L. C. M.)