For more information, additional photos, many of the
papers presented, and a roster of the attendees, see the IEEE
Conference website
The 2001 IEEE Conference on the History of Telecommunications
(CHT2001) was the fourth in a series of workshops sponsored by the IEEE
History Committee and the IEEE History Center at Rutgers University.
The profound role telecommunications has had in shaping the modern world
makes this an important topic of historical study.
The workshop was held at Memorial University of Newfoundland
in St. John’s, Canada, an appropriate site for the conference. It
was on Signal Hill in St. John’s on 12 December 1901 that Guglielmo Marconi
received the first transatlantic radio signal, and 27 July 2001 was the
135th anniversary of the landing of the first successful transatlantic
cable at Heart’s Content in Newfoundland. Click
here to jump to my Heart’s Content page.
Click on each image to see a full-screen
version.
High-resolution images, suitable for printing, are available on request.
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26 July 2001: Conference participants
on the steps of Colonial Building, home of the Provincial Archives
of Newfoundland and Labrador, where we visited the exhibit "An
Unmistakable Sound", Marconi’s equipment and documents from
the 12 December 1901 reception of the first transatlantic wireless
signals. |
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Michael Geselowitz
and Robert Chapuis |
Bob Voss, Mischa
Schwartz, Barney Finn |
Martin Collins
and Barney Finn |
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| Donard de Cogan |
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Bernard Carlson |
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Dave Morton,
Chris Bissell,
Dave Hochfelder,
Mary Ann Hoffman |
Alex Magoun |
Rik Nebeker |
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| The museum visit
was followed by a reception given for the conference attendees by
Dr. Arthur Maxwell House, Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and
Labrador, at Government House, his official residence. |
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| The Lieutenant-Governor’s
postcard. |
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King George
IV’s waterspout at Government House |
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The evening
concluded with a visit to Signal Hill, where there were further
Marconi exhibits in the Cabot Tower. Marconi’s 1901 receiving
site was nearby |
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Cabot Tower,
constructed in 1897 |
Looking across
from Signal Hill
to the harbour mouth |
Map of Signal
Hill |
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The Nebekers,
Susan Aprill,
and Alex Magoun |
The IEEE Electrical
Engineering
Milestone plaque at Signal Hill |
Martha Sloan |
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| A man, a plan,
a kite - Marconi |
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Barney Finn
shows
Bryan Dewalt how to fold
a map in the wind |
Canadian Marconi
Company
Historic Marker |
The group at
Signal Hill |
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| Robert Chapuis |
View of St.
John’s harbour from Signal Hill |
Lenore Symons,
Sue Barnes,
and Wally Read |
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| Waves over Waves
- Marconi exhibit in Cabot Tower |
Marconi, out
of order |
The Marconi
exhibit |
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The ham radio
station
in Cabot Tower |
You are here |
Brian Bowers
and Barney Finn |
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| Bill Burns,
and the Big Rock at Signal Hill (photo by Trudy Levine - thanks to
Trudy for hiking down the hill, and more important, back up the hill,
with me!) |
A Newfie native
at Signal Hill |
The dedication
plaque in
Cabot Tower on Signal Hill |
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Special thanks
to Wally Read, local arrangements supremo, for the outstanding job
he did in making all the Conference attendees welcome in Newfoundland. |
Next page: Heart’s
Content Cable Station Museum, 27 July 2001,
135th anniversary of the 1866 Valentia-Heart’s Content cable |
