You may live Hedy Lamarr , the sultry siren of the silver screen door . But have you get word of Hedy Lamarr , inventor , technologist , and " the mother of Wi - Fi " ? provide us to bring out you .
1. SHE WAS A SERIAL—AND STRATEGIC—BRIDE.
Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna , Austria , the artist eventually known as Hedy Lamarr married six time between 1933 and 1965 . Her last wedding ceremony vows were spoken to her own divorcement lawyer , though he , too , eventually sire the boot . But Lamarr did n’t go through all that for nothing . Alongside her first husband , arm dealer and Mussolini sympathizer Friedrich Mandl , Lamarr was privy to the ins and outs of Austrian weapon fabrication and swap — information she would by and by pop the question to the U.S. war machine during World War II .
2. THAT MARRIAGE HAD A HOLLYWOOD ENDING…
Believe it or not , Lamarr did not especially enjoy her marriage to a fascist . But she also did n’t feel dependable simply asking the powerful , controlling man for a divorcement . or else , she resorted to a mosttheatrical strategy : dressing as her own maidservant and fly to Paris by moonlight .
3. …WHICH BROUGHT HER TO HOLLYWOOD.
Lamarr had been act since she was a teenager , but it was a probability encounter with MGM studio chiefLouis B. Mayerthat made her a house name . Lamarr lead Europe and moved to California , where Mayer cast her as the vampy lovemaking stake opposite superstars like Spencer Tracy , Jimmy Stewart , and Clark Gable .
4. THE STARLET LIFE WAS NOT ALL IT WAS CRACKED UP TO BE.
Studio executives love Lamarr for her looks ( Mayer regularly bill her as " the most beautiful woman in the humans " ) and her exotic persona . But they did n’t seem to care much about let her bit . " Any girl can be glamorous , " Lamarr oncesaid . " All you have to do is stick out still and appear stupid . "
Before long , Lamarr tired of standing still . She got bored . And then , fortunately for us , she get going tinkering .
5. SHE HAD A MIND FOR ENGINEERING.
Lamarr became a prolificinventor . She create a fizz cube that turned water into instant cola . She start sketching blueprints for unheard - of machine . She read up with millionaire aeronaut Howard Hughes and drafted fresh fish- and shuttlecock - inspired designs for the backstage of his airplanes .
6. WE MIGHT NOT HAVE WI-FI WITHOUT HER.
One night while standing over a piano at a company , Lamarr made protagonist with composer George Antheil . The two find they share a passion for creating and an intense curiosity about how things put to work . Using Lamarr ’s knowledge of weapons design and Antheil ’s of musical instruments , theycreatedwhat they call a " frequency - hopping system " : a equipment inspired by the roll of a player piano that could allow for military torpedoes to sidestep enemy endeavor at radio receiver hitch . The profound social structure of this system would go on to inform many of the gadget we rely on today , include GPS and wireless internet .
7. THE GOVERNMENT IGNORED HER TALENTS AT FIRST.
Lamarr offer both her invention and her knowledge to aid the U.S. war effort , butwas dismissed . Charles F. Kettering of the National Inventors Council told Lamarr she could swear out her country better by using her fame and pretty face to sell war bonds . Gamely , she did , set up $ 25 million ( that ’s about $ 340 million today ) for the war machine through public visual aspect .
Two decades subsequently , the Navy finally caught on to the voltage of Lamarr and Antheil ’s innovation and built frequency - hopping engineering into the all - crucial radios used during the Cuban missile crisis .
8. SHE GOT THE RECOGNITION SHE DESERVED…EVENTUALLY.
Lamarr received a headliner on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 , but it was n’t until 2014 — fourteen geezerhood after her last — that she wasinductedinto the National Inventors Hall of Fame .
