Words Fly Through Air: Notre Dame marks the 125th anniversary of the first known wireless transmission in the United States

Author: Christina Clark

Clint Manning, electronics engineer within the Electrical Engineering department at Notre Dame, and other researchers install the transmission equipment in the basilica on Notre Dame's campus.
Clint Manning, electronics engineer within the Electrical Engineering department at Notre Dame, and other researchers install the transmission equipment in the basilica on Notre Dame's campus.

Every day, people use mobile devices to communicate, stream video, check the weather, navigate, play games, and use thousands of other apps. Only in the most recent decades have these technologies become more accessible. Wireless technology also underlies radio astronomy, satellites, television and radio broadcasting, geolocation and navigational services, and remote sensing.

The original experiments that made the wireless services used every day are not as old as some might think. In fact, it was just 125 years ago that the first known long-range wireless transmission in the United States was made on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

Read the full story in a Notre Dame Stories feature.