Popov’s First Public Wireless Transmission

March 24, 1896

Russian physicist Aleksandr S. Popov sends the words “Heinrich Hertz” over morse code through wireless telegraphy between two buildings at St. Petersburg University. While controversy exists over who technically invented the radio (Popov or Guglielmo Marconi), Popov’s transmission may have been the first recorded wireless audio transmission in history. Popov had no interest in patenting his creations and since Marconi commercialized his own technology, Marconi is considered the father of the radio in the world outside of Russia.