Marconi was a fascist anti-Semite , says The Age. Evidence has emerged that the father of wireless communications blocked all Jews from becoming members of the science-oriented Academy of Italy at the behest of Mussolini, long before Il Duce's racist laws became known to the rest of the world.
posted by brookish on Mar 19, 2002 - 34 comments

100 years ago today, Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal. It was reported in Nature on Dec 19, 1901. How's that for an old link?

The first repurcussion of this achievement: legal notice to remove his equipment from Newfoundland because ATC had 2 years left in their 50 year telegraphic monopoly. Plus ça change...

Listen to a real spark gap transmission at 0200 UTC Dec 13 on 3550 KHz to relive history.
posted by Geo on Dec 12, 2001 - 14 comments