Bob Larson
Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr was a reigning movie star during the ‘30s and ‘40s. She amazed audiences as Delilah in the 1950 biblical film “Samson and Delilah,” but she was also a pioneer in wireless communications.
The Vienna-born actress teamed with composer George Antheil in 1940 to develop a radio frequency hopping communications system they hoped would defeat the Nazis during WWII. Their frequency hopping invention was meant to stop German torpedoes from destroying the Atlantic shipping industry. Her invention was a secure radio signal that gave Allied warships control of their torpedoes, so the Germans couldn’t jam the signal. Sadly, the U.S. Navy originally turned down her frequency hopping invention during WWII as they felt her invention was too complex.
Interestingly, their 1942 patent ultimately collected dust in the U.S. Patent Office, however their idea was later used by the U.S. military during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Their work on frequency hopping would later be recognized as a “precursor to the spread-spectrum wireless communications” being used in today’s cellphones, GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi technologies.
Hedy’s fascination with invention was a passion, which was fostered by her father, a banker, who loved invention himself. She was more proud of her invention than her film career.
Lamarr was recognized for her work before her death. In 1998, the Electronic Frontier Foundation named her and Antheil the winners of that year’s Pioneer Award, celebrating their significant and influential contributions to the development of computer-based communications. This technology is now being used to make today’s communications systems more efficient and secure!
~ Bob Larson is a technologist and Marketing Director for 50 Plus.