Guglielmo Marconi had breakthroughs in the 1890s and early 1900s that ended up crediting him as the inventor of the radio. Although several other people were working on the same technology, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909 for his contribution. He was essentially the first person to take the elements that everyone else was working on to create an apparatus that could send focused radio signals over a significant distance. He did this in 1985. Marconi sent a transmission across 1.5 miles. A year later he conducted a few successful demonstrations in England. In 1899, he transmitted a signal across the whole English Channel. Then in 1901, a signal was sent from Poldhu, Cornwall, England to St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. It was the first truly modern moment of radio history.
Marconi was a typical member of the 19th century landed gentry. He has the education and time necessary to pursue his interests involving science, leading him to radio transmissions. His famous No. 7777 was the beginning of modern radio technology. Marconi continued to create new equipment and techniques for radio transmissions, following the trans-atlantic transmission of 1901. These included a magnetic detector that was a part of wireless receivers for many years. His company became interchangeable with radiotelegraphy. His company’s radios became standard equipment on ships.
During World War I, Marconi served in the Italian army, the Italian navy, and then became a member of the Italian diplomatic mission at the Paris Peace Conference.
Post-war, Marconi concentrated on his shortwave radio technology. His company set up a system of long distance communications for the British company in the 1920s.