“Mr Marconi and his marvellous invention: Maritime wireless telegraphy from the Kingstown Regatta in 1898 to the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and beyond.” + demo!

Folks,

Dr. Elizabeth Bruton is back with us again to kindly give us a talk
entitled “Mr Marconi and his marvellous invention: Maritime wireless telegraphy from the Kingstown Regatta in 1898 to the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and beyond.”

Peter G4JNU with David M0DHO’s help will also demonstrate a Marconi detector in action.

Venue: Woodford Park, Woodley
Time: 8pm

In the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and the
subsequent enquiry, the then-Postmaster General Herbert Samuel publicly declared: “Those who have been saved, have been saved through one man, Mr. Marconi … and his marvellous invention.” But what were the origins of this “marvellous” and life-saving invention and what impact did it have on maritime safety? From young Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi’s world’s first of live event reporting by wireless at the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) Yachting regatta in July 1898 through to Marconi’s experiments at Crookhaven between 1901 and 1914 and hence to the vital, life-saving use of Marconi wireless telegraphy on board the Titanic in 1912, this illustrated talk will uncover the practical and commercial application of wireless telegraphy for the maritime world and its potential impact upon maritime safety in the twentieth century.

Dr Bruton is Curator of Technology and Engineering at the Science
Museum, London specialising in communications. Previous roles include Heritage Officer at Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, University of Manchester; Co-curator and researcher for the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) project and exhibition ‘Dear Harry: Henry Moseley, a scientist lost to war’ at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford; and postdoctoral researcher for AHRC-funded project ‘Innovating in Combat: Telecommunications and intellectual property in the First World War’ at the University of Leeds. She was one of the 2014-2015 Marconi Byrne-Bussey Visiting Fellow at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford and also catalogued and researched the Marconi Collection at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford.

In case you haven’t seen her before, she is also a brilliant speaker and
communicator.

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be in abundant supply.

73

John
G4RDC