Thought for Monday, Mar 10, 2008

Golden Oldie

Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian, is generally credited with the
invention of radio. However, scientists from all over the world had
to make contributions before radio could be a reality. For instance,
an American Joseph Henry and an Englishman, Michael Faraday proved
that currents in one wire could produce currents in another. Edouard
Branly, a Frenchman, invented a devise that could receive Marconi's
transmissions and ring a bell. John Fleming, an Englishman, invented
the vacuum tube necessary to receive radio waves which was later
improved by another American, Lee de Forest. But none of this would
have been possible without a means to collect the sounds for
transmissions. The common belief is that the microphone was invented
by an Irishman. But this is purely a patent mike story.

-Stan Kegel
Groaners Digest, Vol 31, Issue 6
Mon, 6 Mar 2006