Fathers of Technology: 10 Unsung Heroes

By Neal Weinberg, Network World | Personal Tech, BlackBerry, cell phone Add a new comment

August 03, 2009, 8:38 PM — In the tech world, the inventor, originator or driving force behind a new product or technology is typically dubbed "father of the _______". As in Tim Berners-Lee, father of the Web. As in Vint Cerf, father of the Internet. As in Bob Metcalfe, father of Ethernet. Here, in honor of fathers everywhere, are some industry "fathers" you may not have heard of.

Unsung Fathers of Technology

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Source: Network World

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Anonymous 2 years ago

Reginald Fessenden because none of the technology we use today would be here without his hard work.He was the first to speak on radio. The first to understand the possibility of heterodyning. Which is the generation of new frequencies by mixing, or multiplying, two oscillating waveforms. You and I later called it AM and FM radio. Which later allowed for long distance teletype, television, cell phones, Wi-Fi, etc, which his patents describe.Wikipedia - On 21 December 1906, Fessenden made an extensive demonstration of the new alternator-transmitter at Brant Rock, showing its utility for point-to-point wireless telephony, including interconnecting his stations to the wire telephone network.Fessenden also received patents for tracer bullets, paging, television apparatus, turbo electric drive for ships and more. He helped design the Niagra Falls power station for GE.In 2007 the president officially thanked his family for his inventions and the 100 years of voices over the airwaves. I am very proud to be a descendant of his.

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Anonymous 2 years ago

You can't talk about the father of 'wifi' without talking about Hedy Lamarr's contribution of Spread Sprectrum/ frequency hopping. She perfected the craft as a tool to beat enemies with radio guided torpedos that couldn't be detected, or blocked, by enemy (it was not used in WW2 but should have been- Kennedy surely did use it against Cuba). So not only was she a brain, but she was drop dead gorgeous, sexy, an actress doing nude and all that! What a complete package I'd recognize before looking at any dude, for sure! lol You guys need to do a whole story on her. My point is you can't have a Father to WIFI without recognizing her work for spread spectrum hopping. Nor can you have CDMA of your phone without her work.

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Anonymous 2 years ago

Nikola Tesla!!! DUHhhh!!!!! He has contributed so much yet gets no recognition for inventions such as AC power or the light bulb. This guy was a genius. Add him in please!

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