Marconi
On December 12, 1901 at Signal Hill, Newfoundland, Guglielmo Marconi reported that he had received the world’s first transatlantic radio signal, a series of clicks transmitted from his antenna in England. There was (and remains) some scepticism, so in 1902 he repeated the signaling from Glace Bay, Nova Scotia to England. Either way, Marconi was clearly the first to send radio signals across the Atlantic, and became a hero.
Without doubt, Marconi was a genius, and his endeavours changed the world. He stands unsullied in our pantheon of greats.
And yet.
Marconi joined Mussolini’s fascists at his first opportunity and was an apologist for Italy’s vicious invasion of Ethiopia. He was a strident and unapologetic anti-semite, but as nearly as I can tell, he has never been “outed” by the politically correct classes. Nobody has yet got around to toppling his statues, defacing his memorials, or renaming buildings and streets.
This is not to excuse Marconi’s odious choices, but it’s also not to diminish his achievements and contributions. It’s just to say that we are fickle in our choices of heroes and of demons. We trash one and ignore the next. Perhaps it’s time to accept them as the humans they were, as imperfect as we are.
George Washington was a slave-owning aristocrat who led his rebels against the legal authorities. He’s a hero. Robert E. Lee was a slave owning aristocrat who led his rebels against the legal authorities. His statues are toppled. It’s difficult to understand the difference.
Now that we’re aware of Marconi’s darker side, should we “unfame” him? Well, perhaps, but as Jesus taught us, the first stone should be thrown by the one who has no sin.