Guglielmo Marconi
Widely credited with inventing the radio, Guglielmo Marconi also won himself the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was also an astute businessman, turning his radio communications systems into big money. But perhaps the best decision he ever made in his life was to not accept an invitation on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Had he been on board the infamous vessel, it’s highly likely that he would have perished in the freezing waters of the Atlantic – after all, it was women and children to the lifeboats first, with no special preferences in place for engineering geniuses.
That Marconi was offered a free berth on the ship of the moment was hardly surprising. Not only was he something of a celebrity right across the English-speaking world but his Marconi Company had provided the radio system for the ship, as well as the two specialists who would man it. Certainly, his family were keen and encouraged him to take up White Star Line’s offer, not least so they could experience for themselves the ship’s much-talked-about luxury.
In the end, Marconi put his own work needs ahead of the wishes of his family – a decision that could well have ended up saving all their lives. But that doesn’t mean the Italian wasn’t unaffected by the disaster. According to the experts of the time, it was only due to Marconi’s radio system that any help was able to reach the stricken Titanic; without his invention, all of the souls on board may have been lost to the ocean.
Everybody knows what became of the Titanic. But what of Marconi? Just three years after his first brush with death, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean again, this time on the RMS Lusitania. Fortunately for him, he was booked on the London-to-New York crossing and not the return trip. While he arrived at his destination safely, those sailing the other way just a few weeks later were attacked by a German U-boat, with hundreds killed. In the end, Marconi died of natural causes, succumbing to a heart attack in 1937 at the age of 63.
