San Marino Post 100 Anniversary Invention of Radio by Guglielmo Marconi

SAN MARINO POST in 1995 issued a first day cover stamp marking the 100 anniversary  of the invention of radio by Guglielmo Marconi. This 850 Lira stamp was jointly released not only in San Marino, but also Germany, Ireland and Italy in the same year.  

One of the reasons why Marconi gets the credit for being 'the first' to invent radio (not Alexander Stepanovich Popov and Jagadish Chandra Bose) is that he much more savvy about intellectual property. One of the best ways to preserve your place in history is to secure patents and publish your research findings in a timely way. Popov did neither. He never pursued a patent for his lightning detector, and there is no official record of his 7 May 1895 demonstration. He eventually abandoned radio to turn his attention to the newly discovered Röntgen waves, also known as X-rays.

 

Additionally, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose like Popov did not file a patent. In fact, Marconi and he met about the time Marconi demonstrated and patented his radio. Professor Bose however is recognised as the inventor of semiconductors and microwave technology.

Marconi, on the other hand, filed for a British patent on 2 June 1896, which became the first application for a patent in radiotelegraphy. He quickly raised capital to commercialise his system, built up a vast industrial enterprise, and went on to be known — outside of Russia — as the inventor of radio.