Today in 1942, who patented technologies that make Wi-Fi possible?

August 10, 2011 By Chad Vander Veen

Answer: Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Lamarr and Antheil developed a "technology that has become a key component of wireless data systems. In 1942 Lamarr, once named the 'most beautiful woman in the world' and Antheil, dubbed 'the bad boy of music' patented the concept of 'frequency-hopping' that is now the basis for the spread spectrum radio systems" such as Wi-Fi.

Lamarr and Antheil, both immigrants, had, according to Wikipedia, "become fiercely pro-American. Together they conceived and patented a frequency-hopping torpedo guidance system. Lamarr contributed the knowledge of torpedo control gained from her [Austrian arms manufacturer] husband and Antheil a method of controlling the spread spectrum sequences using a player-piano mechanism."

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