London. Guglielmo Marconi, supported by the General Post Office’s chief engineer, William Henry Preece, gave a public demonstration at the British Association and then, in December, at Toynbee Hall. He placed two black metal boxes at either corner of the theater. Then, on one side, Preece pressed a lever, a spark struck, and a bell rang in the other box. It seemed like a magic show. Then Marconi took the box with the receiver and walked among the audience. As he walked, Preece pressed the lever several times, and each time the bell rang on the other side. Now it was clear to everyone that there was no cable. News of the public experiment resounded throughout the English press and then spread abroad. It appeared in the Resto del Carlino (a Bologna newspaper) on December 22, 1896: “The wireless telegraph: The important invention of a Bolognese.”
