Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company
| Private company | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Fate | Acquired by GEC (1968) Renamed to GEC-Marconi Ltd (1987) |
| Predecessor | Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company (1897–1900) Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company (1900–1963) |
| Successor |
CMC Electronics (1903–present) GEC-Marconi Ltd (1987–1998) BAE Systems (1999 to present) Marconi plc (1999–2003) Marconi Corporation plc (2003–2006) Ericsson (2005 to present) Telent (2005 to present) |
| Founded | 1897 (as Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company) 1900 (as Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company) 1963 (as Marconi Company Ltd) |
| Defunct | 1987 (as Marconi Company Ltd) 2006 (as Marconi Corporation plc) |
| Owner |
English Electric (1946–1968) General Electric Company plc (1968–1998) Marconi plc (1999–2003) Marconi Corporation plc (2003–2006) |
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. It was derived from earlier variations in the name and incorporation, spanning a period from its inception in 1897 until 2006, during which time it underwent numerous changes, mergers and acquisitions. The company was founded by the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi and began as the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company. The company was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming one of the UK's most successful manufacturing companies. In 1999, its defence manufacturing division, Marconi Electronic Systems, merged with British Aerospace to form BAE Systems. In 2006, extreme financial difficulties led to the collapse of the remaining company, with the bulk of the business acquired by the Swedish telecommunications company, Ericsson.
Marconi's "Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company" was formed on 20 July 1897 after the granting of a British patent for wireless in March of that year. The company opened the world's first radio factory on Hall Street in Chelmsford in 1898 and was responsible for some of the most important advances in radio and television. These include:
In 1900 the company's name was changed to "Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company" and Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Training College was set up in 1901. The company and factory was moved to New Street Works in 1912, to allow for production expansion in light of the RMS Titanic disaster. Along with private entrepreneurs, Marconi company formed in 1924 the Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI), which was granted by Mussolini's regime a monopoly of radio broadcasts in 1924. After the war, URI became the RAI, which lives on to this day.
In 1939, the Marconi Research Laboratories at Great Baddow were founded and in 1941 there was a buyout of Marconi-Ekco Instruments to form Marconi Instruments.
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