First paid MarconigramIn 1898, the first paid Marconigrams were sent by Lord Kelvin, from the Isle of Wight to several friends, including Sir George Stokes. As recalled by Guglilelmo Marconi, writing in 1902, Kelvin, with Lord Tennyson, was visiting the Alum Bay station at The Needles, where Marconi explained the apparatus for his “etheric wave telegraphy.” Kelvin was “so much pleased with what he saw that he desired to send telegrams to various friends on the mainland of England, insisting first that he be permitted to pay for their transmission to Bournemouth at the rate of a shilling royalty per message in order to show his appreciation of the system and to illustrate its immediate availability for commercial use.” Tennyson also sent a message to his nephew at Eton, saying, “very sorry not to hear you speak your Thackery to-morrow.« |
