10 questions · Society & Everyday
Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Kiesler in Vienna in 1914, becomes a film star while still young and a scandal: in the Czech film 'Ecstasy' (1933) she appears nude and in a love scene, causing a stir across Europe. Her first marriage, to the arms manufacturer Friedrich Mandl, is like a gilded cage; at his business dinners with military men she casually picks up a great deal about weapons technology. In 1937 she flees her marriage and the rising tide of Nazism (disguised, legend has it) to London and on to Hollywood. There MGM builds her up as "the most beautiful woman in the world", and she stars alongside the biggest names of her era. But the glamorous facade hides an irrepressible inventor: in her spare time Lamarr tinkers with technical ideas at a workbench rather than going to parties. In the middle of the Second World War, one problem preoccupies her: radio-guided torpedoes could be jammed by the enemy because they transmitted on a fixed frequency. Together with the composer George Antheil she develops an ingenious method in which transmitter and receiver switch frequencies in constant synchrony: "frequency hopping". The timing mechanism was based on the principle of a player piano. In 1942 the two receive a US patent. The military barely used the idea at the time, and Lamarr's role as an inventor stayed unknown for decades. Yet the underlying principle of frequency hopping is now built into Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS: technology used by billions of people. Recognition came late; today several countries mark Inventors' Day on her birthday, 9 November, in her honour.
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film star and inventor
MGM marketed her as "the most beautiful woman in the world".
💡 Did you know? Lamarr was hailed in Hollywood as the „most beautiful woman in the world“; that she was also a brilliant inventor was scarcely known.
frequency hopping
Transmitter and receiver switch frequencies in constant synchrony, making the signal hard to jam.
💡 Did you know? In „frequency hopping“ a radio signal jumps rapidly between many frequencies: making it hard to jam or intercept.
jam-proof torpedo guidance
Lamarr developed the technique in the Second World War so that radio-guided torpedoes could not be jammed by the enemy.
💡 Did you know? The US military barely used the idea at the time; it was ahead of its era.
George Antheil
The timing mechanism for the frequency switching was based on the principle of a player piano.
💡 Did you know? Her co-developer was the composer George Antheil: the idea of hopping frequencies came from the control of a player piano.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Her basic principle lives on today in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS: Lamarr is seen as a pioneer of wireless communication.
💡 Did you know? Billions of devices now use variants of frequency hopping.
1942
The patent expired before the technology found wide military and civilian use.
💡 Did you know? The US Navy ignored the patent for decades; only late was Lamarr's contribution to modern radio recognised.
Ecstasy
The Czech film caused a Europe-wide scandal because of its revealing scenes.
💡 Did you know? The film „Ecstasy“ (1933) caused an international scandal with a nude scene.
Hedwig Kiesler (Vienna)
In 1937 she fled her marriage and Nazism to London and on to the USA.
💡 Did you know? Fleeing the Nazis, the Vienna-born Jewish Hedwig Kiesler went to Hollywood, where she became a global star.
Foto: Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr (1914 to 2000) was a Hollywood film star and also the inventor of a radio technique that anticipated wireless communication.
💡 Did you know? In her honour, Inventors' Day in German-speaking countries falls on Lamarr's birthday, 9 November.
1914
Born: 9 November 1914 in Vienna
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