Hedy Lamarr - so Much More Than a Beautiful Actress

 

Do you use GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi? Its basic technology was invented by a woman who died 22 years ago:  Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today’s WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems.  As a natural beauty seen widely on the big screen in films like Samson and Delilah and White Cargo, society has long ignored her inventive genius.  

Lamarr was originally Hedwig Eva Kiesler, born in Vienna, Austria on November 9th, 1914 into a well-to-do Jewish family.  An only child, Lamarr received a great deal of attention from her father, a bank director and curious man, who inspired her to look at the world with open eyes.  He would often take her for long walks where he would discuss the inner workings of different machines, like the printing press or streetcars.  These conversations guided Lamarr’s thinking and at only 5 years of age, she could be found taking apart and reassembling her music box to understand how the machine operated.  Meanwhile, Lamarr’s mother was a concert pianist and introduced her to the arts, placing her in both ballet and piano lessons from a young age. 

Learn about her inventions, for example, new wings for Howard Hughes' airplane.  Lamarr was indeed a genius as the gears in her inventive mind continued to turn. She once said, “Improving things comes naturally to me.”

Lamarr once insisted, “Any girl can be glamorous; all you have to do is stand still and look stupid.”  That she herself was anything but stupid was unequivocally proved during World War II when, in collaboration with the avant-garde composer George Antheil, she invented an electronic device that minimized the jamming of radio signals.  Though it was never used in wartime, this device is a component of present-day satellite and cellular phone technology.

Read the whole story here:  https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/hedy-lamarr

or here:

http://hedylamarr.com/about/biography/

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