This is a blog post by Neil Taylor, for International Women’s Day 2022. You can find the Welsh version here.
Dma blog gan Neil Taylor, ar gyfer Diwrnod Rhyngwladol Y Menywod 2022. Cewch ffindio’r fersiwn Cymraeg yma.

Hedy Lamarr, Inventor and Hollywood Star

Although Hedy Lamarr is best known as a Hollywood actress, starring in films between 1938 and 1958, she was also an inventor. Her work is likely to have had an impact on how you are reading this article.

Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Austria, Lamarr’s early film career was in Europe in the early to mid 1930s. Following a move to London, her encounter with Louis B Mayer (of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) set her on course to the US. Outside of the Hollywood role, she is reported to have led a quieter life, without the extravagant parties and socialising associated with Hollywood stardom. It is in this time that she set aside part of her living space with desk for working on ideas to improve the world [1].

Her parents encouraged an interest in the way things worked. Although she had dreamt of being in films from an early age, this part of her life stuck with her. She is reported to have said “Hope and curiosity about the future seemed better than guarantees. That’s the way I was. The unknown was always so attractive to me… and still is.” [2]

In the early 1940s, the USA joined World War II. Lamarr learned about attacks on the US using torpedoes that were controlled by radio signals. Her invention was a device that would disrupt the radio signals to control the weapons. This was done by using frequency hopping. Working with George Antheli, they developed the invention and obtained US Patent 2,292,387 for the Secret Communication System. This was granted for Hedy Kiesler Markey, her married name at the time.

The US military did not take up the invention, partly due to difficulties to produce working equipment with the technology available and partly because the idea came from outside the military [3]. It is reported to have found later use in the 1960s. Since then, the invention of using frequency changes within a specified band of the radio spectrum has found use in other ways, including WiFi and GPS.

For many years, Hedy Lamarr was best known as a Hollywood star. She never made a secret of her work as an inventor, yet that hasn’t been the main story that people told. In recent years, the story of her work as an inventor has become better known and it serves as an inspiration for us to be curious and to work for a better future.

[1] Rhodes, R, 2011, Hedy’s Folly. The life and breakthrough inventions of Hedy Lamarr. Double-Day, USA.

[2] CMG Worldwide (2022) Hedy Lamarr. The Official Website of Hedy Lamarr. Online: hedylamarr.com (Accessed 21^st February 2022).

[3] Wikipedia (2022) Hedy Lamarr. Online: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr (Accessed 21^st February 2022).