Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy on April 25, 1874. He was the second son of Giuseppe Marconi, an Italian country gentleman, and Annie Jameson. He received a private education, and studied at Bologna, Florence, and Leghorn (he was not a very good student)! During his childhood, he took an enthusiastic interest in electrical and physical science, studying the works of James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Hertz, Oliver Lodge, and other respected scientists of his day. In 1895, he began conducting experiments at his father’s country estate; he successfully sent wireless signals over one and a half miles
In 1896, Marconi decided to pack up all of his equipment and move to England. He was then granted the world’s first patent for a system of wireless telegraphy that same year. It was demonstrated successfully in London, and in that same year, he demonstrated it before the Italian government (he sent signals over twelve miles). Thereafter, his long and effective career took off!