In 1896, Marconi obtained his first patent and in 1897, he formed the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company Limited with his cousin Henry Jameson Davis.

BBC: Profile: Marconi, the wireless pioneer

His achievements triggered the invention of the wireless telegraph and radio.

UNESCO: Some important dates for radio

Over the next three decades he dabbled in a variety of new technologies--electric storage batteries, steam- and gas-powered automobiles and a wireless telegraph--but after his death in 1911 the company focused again on temperature controls.

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