[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: Tesla not Marconi


From: 	Barton B. Anderson[SMTP:mopar-at-mn.uswest-dot-net]
Sent: 	Thursday, September 18, 1997 10:37 PM
To: 	Tesla List
Cc: 	'Tesla List'
Subject: 	Re: Tesla not Marconi


Hello Geoff and all,
I'm new on the list and have been keeping up with this topic. I'm glad to see
mention of case #369. I myself found reference to Tesla being the "True Father
of Radio" on the web. I personally have a hard time taking others statements as
fact. So, a few months ago I went to the patent office and came across case
#369. After reading, I learned that Tesla in fact IS The Father of Radio. But
in the reading, it is very clear that others among Tesla had their hand in the
mix and should be credited for their inventions "correctly" as well.

No, Marconi did not invent wireless broadcasting but must be given credit for
being smart enough to gather working knowledge from the great inventors of the
time and employing (his assembly of) the hertzian tuned circuit that did work
very well. I am a Nikola Tesla fanatic, however in my mind, Marconi should not
be looked down on for his "assembly". What we should be perturbed about is
that our history books have yet to credit these inventions appropriately even
after the truth has been told "and ruled". I'm not saying anyone is trashing
Marconi, but I want others to know the true problem is lack of accurate
history.

The big question I have is "WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE THE HISTORY BOOKS SINCE WE
ARE THOSE SELECT FEW WHO KNOW TRUTH?"
Barton B. Anderson     Bart's High Voltage Lab

Tesla List wrote:

> From:   Geoff Schecht[SMTP:geoffs-at-onr-dot-com]
> Sent:   Wednesday, September 17, 1997 3:09 PM
> To:     Tesla List
> Subject:        Re: Tesla not Marconi
>
> Michael:
>
> If you can find an indexed microfiche of a newspaper for the year 1943
> from a major city (say, the New York Times), I believe you'll find that was
> the year in which the US Supreme Court overturned Marconi's claim to be the
> "Father of Radio" and awarded that honor to Nikola Tesla. It didn't do
> Tesla much good at that point since I believe that the court ruled in his
> favor shortly after his death. This judgement was related to a nearly
> lifelong patent dispute between the two men. It's one of my favorite
> factoids, along the same lines of those about Philo Farnsworth and Edwin
> Armstrong (other unappreciated electronic geniuses).
>
> The reasons that Marconi gets all of the credit for radio are the same as
> those which attribute the invention of electronic television to RCA (by way
> of Vladimir Zworykin). RCA Inc and Marconi Ltd were very well-funded,
> politically-connected corporations who could afford to clobber the real
> geniuses like Farnsworth, Armstrong and Tesla with a battery of
> high-powered lawyers and/or sweetheart legislation deals until the patent
> claims ran out and the inventors went belly-up financially, died of old age
> or jumped out of a window, in the case of Armstrong.
>
> (Farnsworth and Armstrong were pretty good businessmen who were essentially
> victims of their times... the years between WWI and WWII when Corporate
> America really ruled the roost and the Depression killed off most sources
> of venture capital for the independent inventors. Tesla had most of his
> successes long before the Depression and apparently never had leanings
> towards business. He just liked to have a reasonable income from his
> royalty checks, a decent lab to play around in and a lot of time to think.
> That made him ripe for the picking by people like Edison and Westinghouse,
> who were masters at exploiting the talents of others.)
>
> Geoff.
>
> ----------
> > From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> > To: 'Tesla List' <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
> > Subject: Re: Tesla not Marconi
> > Date: Wednesday, September 17, 1997 12:26 AM
> >
> >
> > From:         Michael Smith[SMTP:md.smith-at-usa-dot-net]
> > Reply To:     md.smith-at-usa-dot-net
> > Sent:         Tuesday, September 16, 1997 7:44 PM
> > To:   Tesla List
> > Subject:      Re: Tesla not Marconi
> >
> >
> > >
> > > From:       KRAMPF-at-aol-dot-com[SMTP:KRAMPF-at-aol-dot-com]
> > > Sent:       Tuesday, September 16, 1997 5:22 AM
> > > To:         tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> > > Subject:    Re: To Kevin
> > >
> > > Hi All!
> > >
> > > I am new here and have been sitting quietly in the corner for the past
> > week,
> > > absorbing the wealth of information.  When I saw Alfred A. Skrocki's
> > post I
> > > had to respond.
> > >
> > > In a message dated 9/16/97 5:09:03 AM, Alfred A. Skrocki wrote:
> > >
> > > <<Now you cooking! I might add that the deplorable educational system
> > > in this country still insists that Marconi was the inventor of radio,
> > > so much so that my daughter was suspended when she bought in a copy
> > > of the Supreme court decision that Tesla NOT Marconi was the
> > rightfulrightful
> > >
> > > inventor of radio!
> > > >>
> > >
> > > Tell me more about your daughter's ordeal.  I teach teachers how to do
> > > hands-on science and would love to use this as an example of why we
> > need to
> > > "unlearn" all of the old myths.
> > >
> > > I have been using a Tesla coil for science programs for 13 years and
> > was
> > > delighted when I found this group.
> > >
> > > PS - Dr. Resonance, is that you D.C.?
> > >
> > > Robert Krampf
> > > Science Education Company
> > > http://members.aol-dot-com/krampf/home.html
> > >
> > >
> > Alfred,
> >
> > You know, I would like to hear that too. In fact, if anyone can cite a
> > good reference, I would like to present it to the radio station here in
> > Lincoln, NE that has a commercial talking up their 50 year anniversary
> > that says "50 years of making Marconi proud".   I bristle when I here
> > that, and they play it every day on my way to work.
> >
> > Michael Smith
> > md.smith-at-usa-dot-net
> >
> >
> >