Can you imagine a world without WiFi, Bluetooth or GPS? All of us would’ve been stuck with the ethernet…Which some of you haven't experienced or had to suffer through... 😭 and it shows🙄. Or getting yelled at for missing the exit on the paper map (still do that with the GPS though not the point 💀)
The basis for this technology was invented by none other than Hedy Lamarr.
Hedy Lamarr born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on November 9, 1914 in Vienna, Austria is known as the “The Mother Of Wifi”. She was a famous actress known for her beauty but she was also brilliant, innovative and inventive.
Her interest in technology was sparked by her father, who discussed the inner workings of machines with her during their long walks. She inherited her musical and artistic talent from her mother, who was a concert pianist.
So what was the technology she invented you may ask?
During the 1940s, when World War II was breaking out across Europe, Hedy had an idea for a communication system that would guide allied torpedos with radio signals. Her idea included a way that could prevent the enemy from “jamming” the signal by switching to different radio frequencies. She named her idea “frequency hopping.”
The idea was that the torpedo and airplane would hop among different frequencies, and when one transmission changed radio signals, the other would switch to the same frequency. The enemy would have trouble figuring out which frequency to jam, but since the airplane and torpedo were in sync with one another’s radio frequencies, they could still communicate and accurately attack the target.
Hedy co-invented the technology with her friend—pianist George Antheil, who helped her bring her ideas to life with piano technology—and the two were awarded a patent for their “secret communication system” on August 11, 1942. But they never earned any money from it as the patent had expired.
Hedy intended for the technology to be used by the US army against the Nazis. However, they dismissed the invention. Yet, its significance was later discovered when the US Navy utilized it during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Hedy Lamarr also made other contributions in aeronautics.
Howard Hughes, a millionaire and record-setting pilot, encouraged her inquisitive scientific mind, and introduced her to leading scientists and technicians.
According to Hedy, Hughes relied on her. She saw that the airplanes were too slow and decided that was not right. So she bought a book on fish and another on birds. She studied the build and general shape of the fastest bird and fish and connected them. She then showed her design to Hughes who told her that she was a genius
She even said “I don’t have to work on ideas, they come naturally.”
It wasn’t until almost six decades had passed that Lamarr received any awards for her scientific work. The Electronic Frontier Foundation jointly awarded Lamarr and Antheil with their Pioneer Award in 1997. According to Richard Rhodes, author of Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, when the Foundation called to tell her about the award, she replied, “Well, it’s about time.”
Hedy also became the first woman to receive the Invention Convention’s Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award. She was inducted posthumously into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for the development of her frequency hopping technology in 2014.
Hedy passed away in 2000 due to heart disease. Her son, Anthony, spread her ashes in Vienna according to her wishes.
Hedy was an all-rounder. She had both brains and beauty. Unfortunately, she received higher recognition for one more than the other. So, if it weren't for her, I would be currently writing this article “stuck” to the wall. So thank you Hedy for saving me from further back problems and the Wifi of course.😁
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