Hedy Lamarr

Centro Educativo:
OAK HOUSE SCHOOL

  • 1º y 2º de la ESO
  • Barcelona
  • , Barcelona

Principales hitos

  • Invention of Frequency Hopping: Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil invented frequency hopping, where radio signals jump between different frequencies, making it hard for enemies to block or jam military signals during WWII.
  • Impact on Wireless Technology: Although it wasn’t used in WWII, Hedy’s frequency hopping idea became key to modern tech like WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS, ensuring secure, uninterrupted communication across devices.
  • Patent Recognition: Though overlooked at the time, Hedy’s invention was later recognized. In 2014, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her groundbreaking work in wireless tech.

“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."

Hedy Lamarr

Biografía de Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr: The Actress and Inventor You Should Know About:
Hedy Lamarr was born in 1914 in Austria, and she lived until 2000. Hedy Lamarr became one of the most famous actresses in the 1940s, and at the time, people thought she was the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world! She starred in a bunch of movies and series, mostly in Hollywood, and became a huge star. Her looks were so striking that people would often remember her for being an actress, but what most people didn’t know was that Hedy Lamarr was also a super smart inventor!
Hedy wasn’t just about looking pretty and acting in movies — she was also fascinated by science and technology. During World War II, when she was already famous, Hedy decided she wanted to help out in the war effort. So, she teamed up with a composer named George Antheil to invent something super cool: a radio guidance system to stop enemy forces from jamming radio signals used by the military.
The idea behind her invention was something called frequency hopping. This was a fancy way of saying that the system would constantly change (or hop) between different radio channels. This would make it almost impossible for enemies to block or jam the signals, which could save lives and protect important military operations. The system used a player piano roll to control the signal’s changing channels, which was really ahead of its time!
Even though the United States of America military didn’t use her invention during the war, Hedy’s work was actually super important. The ideas behind her invention—especially the frequency hopping—were part of the foundation for a lot of the technology we use today, like mobile phones, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth! It was crazy how forward-thinking she was, and it’s really amazing that she was so involved in inventing something that was way beyond what people expected from a Hollywood star.
After the war, Hedy Lamarr didn’t get the recognition she deserved for her work as an inventor. But as technology started to change, people began to realize just how important her ideas were. Fast forward to 1997, when 3G mobile phone technology was starting to take off. That’s when people started calling Hedy Lamarr the “mother of Wi-Fi”! She was 83 years old at the time, and she had already lived an incredible life as both an actress and an inventor. It’s crazy to think that her ideas helped make things like smartphones and wireless internet possible!
Even though Hedy Lamarr was mostly remembered for her stunning beauty and glamorous movie roles, her legacy as a brilliant inventor is something that should not be forgotten. She was a pioneer in many ways, and her work helped us create the way we communicate mostly today. So, the next time you use your phone or connect to Wi-Fi, just think about Hedy Lamarr, the actress who changed the world with her amazing ideas!