MAR'COMAN'NI (Lat., from OHG. *Marka wan. border-man. from »larra, border matt, man). An ancient German people who, in the time of Cesar, lived along the banks of the Rhine, but afterwards, as appears from Tam-jilts and Strabo. settled in Bohemia, from which they expelled the Boil. Their King. Marobodnus, en tered into an alliance with the tribes living around them to defend Germany against the Ro mans. The combined forces of the alliance num bered 70,000 men, and the Emperor Tiberius signed a treaty with them in A.D. 6; but the Mareomannie alliance was beaten eleven years later by the Cherusci and their allies; and in 19 the Gothic Catualda drove Maroboduns from the throne. and himself usurped the sovereignty. But he was soon overthrown, and the native dynasty established, under whose rule the Mar comanni extended their territory up to the ube, till their encroachments alarmed the Ro mans, who attacked them iu the time of tian. This war, which subsided for a time in the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian, broke out again under „Marcus Aurelius, and was carried on with bitterness from 166 to 180, when it was ended lry the Peace of Commodus. The Ma manni continued to make raids into the provinces of Noricum and Rhatia, and in 270 invaded Italy as far as Aneona. Soon after this their name fades away from history, the people figuring later under the name of Boiarii. See BAVARIA.
Orctar.Lmo (1875—). An Ital ian electrician, inventor of the wireless telegraph. He was born near Bologna at Crilfone, studied under Rosa at Leghorn, and then entered the Uni versity of Bologna. There lie came in contact
with Professor Rigid, who bad long been ested in the nature of the Ilertzian waves. The young man saw the pcissibilitie.4 of using these waves for the transmi.sion of messages. unproved the coherers of onesti and Itranty, made several successful experiments at tlrillinie in 1895, and in 1896, having failed to interest the Italian Cow ernment in his behalf, went to England, where his plans were laid before the post-mlice ties. There his project was well received. Sir William Preece, of the British telegraph system, who had himself made experi ments h and took up new method, tested it,and declared it suceessful.but limited in application. Almost immediately afterwards, tests of the .115rconi method were made by the Italian Ministry of Marine at Spezia. lu 1597 the Alarconi Wireless Telegraph Company was founded with a large capital. Two years later signals were snecIssfully exchanged across the English Channel, and the system was established pretty generally in the British and Italian navies, although smile insular ,jealousy was aroused in England that the scheme of a for eigner should be adopted in view of early study of the problem. and this in spite of the fact that mother was an Irish woman. In December, 1901. from Saint N. F., Nlarconi sent a signal to the Irish coast. and on Deeember 19, 1902. succeeded in transmitting a message. See WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.