Edward Edwin Glanville

Alternate Names

     He was also known as Edwin.

Birth, Marriage and Death information

     Edward Edwin Glanville was born on 8 June 1873 at Blackrock, DUB, IRL.
     He died on 21 August 1898 at Rathlin Island, ANT, IRL, (when age calculated as 25); reported in The Times of 24 Aug 1898 p4 "News has been received from Rathlin Island of the shocking death of Mr Edward Edwin Glanville, an assistant to Mr Marconi, the inventor of wireless telegraph. Mr Glanville who was only 25 years of age was residing in Rathlin in connexion with some experiments. . . On Sunday afternoon he went out for a walk ... did not return ... search was instituted ... gentlemans body found at the foot of a cliff some 300 ft high ... a verdict of Accidental Death"
His age was recorded 25, a bachelor.

Other information

     He was described:
Edward Edwin Glanville (1873-1898)

Physicist, wireless telegraphy pioneer

Edward Edwin Glanville was born in Blackrock, Co. Dublin in 1873. Edwin entered Trinity College Dublin in 1891 to study mathematics and experimental science and gained a first-class BA in 1895. He was awarded Scholarship also in 1895 and undertook some postgraduate work under Professor George Francis FitzGerald for which he successfully sat his examination in 1898.

In July 1897 Edwin joined what later became the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. After an initial period in London , Glanville was sent to Salisbury Plain for experiments to test the efficiency of various types of aerials. In November Marconi hired George Kemp, on loan from the Post Office, and in January 1898 Glanville and he carried out transmission tests between Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight and Bournemouth . In June 1898 Lord Kelvin inspected the installation and insisted on paying a shilling to send a message to G.G. Stokes; this was the first paid telegram to be transmitted by wireless.

In July 1898 Marconi instructed Glanville and Kemp to set up a wireless telegraphy link between Rathlin Island and Ballycastle to monitor shipping for Lloyds. The first test signals were received in 6 July; on the same day Marconi ordered Glanville and Kemp to Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire ) for the annual regatta. Over the two-day event more than 700 reports of the yacht races were transmitted to the shore; this was the first use of wireless telegraphy at a sporting event and demonstrated its potential for marine communication. Glanville and Kemp returned to Rathlin and Ballycastle, respectively, to resume their experiments. Sadly Glanville was killed on 21 August by a fall from the cliffs on Rathlin while pursuing his hobbies of geology and bird watching.

Reference: Michael Sexton. 2005. Marconi: The Irish Connection, Four Courts Press.