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Who Invented the Radio?

1. Marconi's claim that he invented radio was always disputed by Nikola Tesla and Alexander Popov.

Although many scientists and inventors contributed to the invention of wireless telegraphy, including Michael Faraday, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, Alexander Popov, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Alva Edison, and others, Marconi’s practical system achieved widespread use, so he is often credited as the "father of radio."

2. Marconi was awarded the patent for Radio communications with British Patent GB12039, "Improvements in transmitting electrical impulses and signals and in apparatus there-for" on 2 July 1897 (sometimes recognized as the World's first patent in radio telecommunication).

Marconi did develop a practical model and was responsible for the first successful exploitation of the invention practically at the same time with Alexander Popov, who described his findings in a paper published in 1895. Popov publicly demonstrated the transmission of radio waves between different campus buildings to the St. Petersburg Physical Society in March 1896. Actually, Marconi publicly demonstrated his system several months later, in September. Upon learning about Marconi's experiments, Popov effected ship-to-shore communication over a distance of 6 miles in 1898 and 30 miles in 1899. He died in 1905 and his claim was not pressed by the Russian government until 40 years later.

3. Tesla initially held the rights to radio, but the US Patent Office reversed its decision and awarded Marconi the patent for radio. Tesla fought to re-acquire his radio patent, but failed. A lawsuit regarding Marconi's numerous other radio patents was resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court, who overturned most of these (1943). Their decision was based on the proven prior work conducted by Sir Oliver Lodge, and others, from which the other Marconi’s patents stemmed. Marconi’s supporters stated that Marconi was not aware of the works of Nikola Tesla in the U.S. although the presentation at the Franklin Institute was reported across America and throughout Europe. It is unlikely, though, that Marconi was unaware of Tesla's presentation, "On Light and Other High Frequency Phenomena", in Philadelphia.

However, the U. S. Supreme Court noted the primacy of Marconi's first patent stating, "Marconi's reputation as the man who first achieved successful radio transmission rests on his original patent, which became reissue No. 11,913, and which is not here in question." At the time, the United States Army was involved in a patent infringement lawsuit with Marconi's company regarding radio, leading some to posit that the government nullified Marconi's other patents in order to mute any claims for compensation (as, some posit, the government's initial reversal to grant Marconi the patent right in order to nullify any claims Tesla had for compensation).

4. Another pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose. In 1894, Bose ignited gunpowder and rang a bell at a distance using electromagnetic waves, confirming that communication signals can be sent without using wires.