1.

2 TIMELINE FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Telecommunications
William Sturgeon (English)

1825

Guglielmo Marconi (Italian)

1896

develops the multi-turn

files his first of many patents

electromagnet.

on wireless transmission
by radio. In 1901, he
demonstrates radio telegraphy
across the Atlantic Ocean.
[1909 Nobel Prize in physics,

1837

Samuel Morse

shared with Karl Braun

(American) patents the

(German).]

electromagnetic telegraph,
using a code of dots and

1897

Karl Braun (German) invents the cathode ray tube (CRT).

[1909 Nobel Prize with Marconi.]

dashes to represent letters

and numbers.
1902
1872

Reginald Fessenden (American) invents amplitude

Thomas Edison (American) patents the electric

modulation for telephone transmission. In 1906, he

typewriter.

introduces AM radio broadcasting of speech and music

on Christmas Eve.

1876

Alexander Bell (ScottishAmerican) invents the

1912

Lee De Forest

telephone, the rotary dial

(American)

becomes available in 1890,

develops the triode

and by 1900 telephone

tube amplifier for

systems are installed in

wireless telegraphy.

many communities.

Also in 1912, the

wireless distress

1887

1887

Heinrich Hertz (German)

call issued by the

generates radio waves and

Titanic was heard

demonstrates that they

58 miles away by

share the same properties

the ocean liner Carpathia which managed to rescue 705

as light.

Titanic passengers 3.5 hours later.

Emil Berliner (American) invents the flat gramophone

1919

1893

Valdemar Poulsen (Danish) invents the first magnetic

Edwin Armstrong (American) invents the

superheterodyne radio receiver.

disc, or record.
1920

Birth of commercial radio broadcasting; Westinghouse

sound recorder using

Corporation establishes radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh,

steel wire as recording

Pennsylvania.

medium.

1.2 HISTORICAL TIMELINE

Telecommunications
Vladimir Zworykin

1923

1958

Jack Kilby (American)

(Russian-American)

builds first integrated circuit

invents television. In

(IC) on germanium and,

1926, John Baird (Scottish)

independently, Robert

transmits TV images

Noyce (American) builds

over telephone wires

first IC on silicon.

from London to Glasgow.

Regular TV broadcasting

1960

Echo, the first passive

began in Germany (1935),

communication satellite is

England (1936) and the

launched, and successfully

U.S. (1939).

reflects radio signals back

to Earth. In 1963, the first

1926

Transatlantic telephone service between London and

communication satellite is

New York.
1932

First microwave telephone link, installed (by Marconi)

placed in geosynchronous orbit.

1969

between Vatican City and the Popes summer residence.

ARPANET is
establised by the
U.S. Department of

1933

1935

Edwin Armstrong (American) invents frequency

Defense, to evolve

modulation (FM) for radio transmission.

later into the Internet.

Robert Watson Watt

1979

(Scottish) invents radar.

Japan builds the first

cellular telephone network
network.
1983 cellular phone networks start in the U.S.

1938

1947

H. A. Reeves (American)

1990 electronic beepers become common

invents pulse code

1995 cell phones become widely available

modulation (PCM).

2002 cell phone supports video and internet

William Schockley,
Walter Brattain and

1984

Worldwide Internet becomes operational.

John Bardeen (all

1988

First transatlantic optical fiber cable between the U.S.

American) invent the

and Europe.

junction transistor at Bell

Labs. [1956 Nobel Prize

1997

Mars Pathfinder sends images to Earth.

2004

Wireless communication supported by many airports,

in physics.]
1955

Pager is introduced as a radio communication product in

hospitals and factories.

1955

Navender Kapany (Indian-American) demonstrates the

optical fiber as a low-loss, light transmission medium.

university campuses, and other facilities.