The Mother of WiFi

The most beautiful woman in the world -Hedy Lamarr - was an Austrian born American actress and inventor, credited for developing a wireless communication that was the prequel to WiFi. But first - Hedy Lamarr starred in her first movie in 1932 at the age of 17. Just one look was all it took and MGM, the most coveted studio in Hollywood, offered her a contract. She cemented her future as a film star quickly by charming audiences with her grace and enchanting face. She appeared in a number of top notch movies. (Notably, Algiers, White Cargo, Boomtown and Ziegfeld Girl.) An actress by day, an inventor at night; Lamarr's beauty took center stage while her brilliant mind was completely ignored until she met Howard Hughes. Hughes was the catalyst who inspired her to create the innovations forming in her mind. Her most significant invention was engineered as the United States was gearing up for World War II. Along with music composer George Antheil, (who also harbored an innovative spirit), the two came up with a new communication system used for the sole purpose of guiding torpedoes to their targets. This system involved frequency hopping amongst radio waves, with both transmitter and receiver hopping to new frequencies together. This prevented the interception of radio waves; thus allowing the torpedoes to find its intended target. Lamarr and Antheil secured a patent for the invention, but not so much from the U.S. military. Unfortunately, the patent expired before Lamarr ever saw any money for her efforts. It wasn't until 1997 that Lamarr began to receive awards for this invention, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Her movie career remained successful throughout the 1940's and 50's before it went into decline. By the 1970's, Lamarr went into a self-imposed seclusion, possibly to contemplate her storied life. Married and divorced six times, gifted actress, genius, Hedy Lamarr died in 2000 of congestive heart failure at the age of 85.

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