left: Guglielmo Marconi - a photograph featured within Cassier's Magazine of 1901. [496] 

 

 

 

 

A gentleman named Henry Mathews  had watched Marconi carrying out the experiments in 1897 and was in attendance, aged 84, when the plaque commemorating his achievement was erected at Lavernock during 1949. He recalls that he was a cab-driver in those days and went over several times 'to see what was going on' and to watch the experiments. 'I can see the young Marconi now', he told a representative of a Cardiff newspaper. 'He was so keen, so vital about what he was doing'. I leant against this very wall and watched him and Mr. Kemp preparing for their experiments. I little thought then that I would live to see the day when all these people would come to the old church to honour the young Italian in this way.' [687]

The periodical, 'Everett's encyclopedia of useful knowledge, by Marshall Everett' published the following account of Marconi in 1905: -

'The portrait (left) is the latest picture of Marconi, who is shortly to be married to the Hon. Beatrice O'Brien, a member of an aristocratic Irish family which has a history of 400 years.

Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, April 25th, 1875. He was educated in Leghorn, under Professor Rosa, and, subsequently, at the University of Bologna, in which city were carried out the first experiments in connection with his system of wireless telegraphy.

Marconi's invention was successfully tested in England (Wales!) between Penarth and Weston, and later by the Italian Ministry of Marine at Spezia.

Wireless telegraphic communications were established between France and England in 1899; two years later he was enabled to transmit signals across the Atlantic Ocean from Poldhu, Cornwall, to St. John's Newfoundland.

In 1902, Mr. Marconi's system was installed on board the Italian cruiser Carlo Alberto, and during her voyage from England to Russia, he received messages from Cornwall and transmitted them to the Tsar and the King of Italy at Kronstadt.

Later on, in December of the same year, he was able to announce the establishment of his system of wireless telegraphy between Canada and England.

This was followed, a few weeks later, by the transmission of a message from the President of the United States to the King of England, inaugurating wireless connection between Cape Cod and Cornwall.' [497]