Confluence of beauty and brain
Hedy Lamarr
Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler
9th November, 1913 (Vienna, Austria) – 19th
January, 2000 (Orlando, Florida)
Often referred to as one of the most
gorgeous and exotic of Hollywood's leading ladies, Lamarr made a number of
well-received films during the 1930s and 1940s. and a pioneer in the field of
wireless communications. Along with co-inventor George Anthiel, she developed a
"Secret Communications System": by manipulating radio frequencies at
irregular intervals between transmission and reception to form a formidable code
thereby preventing classified messages from being intercepted by the enemy (Nazis
in World War II).
Lamarr and Anthiel received a patent
in 1941, but the importance of their invention was not realized until decades
later. It was first implemented on naval ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis
and subsequently emerged in numerous military applications. But most
importantly, the "spread spectrum" technology that Lamarr helped to
invent would revolutionize the digital communications, forming the technical
backbone that makes cellular phones, fax machines and other wireless operations
possible.
As is the case with many of the
famous women inventors, Lamarr received very little recognition of her
innovative talent at the time, but recently she has been showered with praise
for her groundbreaking invention. In 1997, she and George Anthiel were honored
with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award. And later in the
same year, Lamarr became the first female recipient of the BULBIE Gnass Spirit
of Achievement Award, a prestigious lifetime accomplishment prize for inventors
that is dubbed "The Oscar of Inventing."
Lamarr also earned a place on
Lemelson-MIT inventor of the week and the America’s Inventor.
Having proved she was much more than
just another Hollywood pretty face, Lamarr debunked stereotypes and earned a
place among the 20th century's most important women inventors. She’s the perfect
embodiment of beauty and intelligence.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr
http://inventionconvention.com/americasinventor/dec97issue/section2.html
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/lamarr.html
http://www.women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lammar.asp
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