Before We Went Wireless: David Edward Hughes FRS

The first biography of the brilliant inventor and practical experimenter, British-born David Edward Hughes. A contemporary of Edison and Bell, Hughes made major contributions in the fields of telegraphy, telephony, metal detection, and audiology. His printing telegraph, adopted for the European communications network, made him a fortune. Hughes sent and received wireless signals in 1879, but faced with the scepticism of his peers, he discontinued his research; Marconi was awarded the patent in 1896. Based on over ten years of research at archives and museums in the US, UK, and Europe that included a careful study of Hughes's notebooks, archival documents, and patent models. Over 60 illustrations including period documents and artifacts. Extensive chapter notes and index.