January 12, 2022 • 8 mins
On this day in 1908, French radio pioneer Gustave Ferrié transmitted the first long-distance message ever sent from the Eiffel Tower.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that gives a quick look it's something that
happened a long time ago. Today I'm Gay Bluesier and
in this episode, we're looking at the day when a
(00:21):
breakthrough in radio science helped protect one of the most
famous landmarks in the world. The day was January twelfth,
French radio pioneer Gustaf Ferrier transmitted the first long distance
(00:43):
message ever sent from the Ffel Tower. The successful transmission
convinced the French Army of the utility of radio communications
and ensured that the Ffel Tower would not be torn
down as originally intended. Today it's hard to imagine the
Paris skyline without the iconic Effel Tower, but it was
(01:05):
never intended to be a permanent addition. In eighteen eighty nine,
Paris hosted the World's Fair, also known as the Exposition Universal,
as a way to mark the one hundredth anniversary of
the French Revolution. The city wanted an eye catching structure
to mark the entrance to the fair on the sham
(01:25):
dumas a public green space in the middle of Paris.
High profile artists from across the country submitted proposals, but
in the end, the city chose Gustav Effel's three hundred
meter high tower. Ethel received a twenty year lease on
the land, meaning that full ownership of the lot and
(01:45):
the tower would revert to the city of Paris on
January first, nineteen ten. The artist hated the idea that
his masterpiece would be demolished due to a perceived lack
of utility, so from very early on he started looking
for a practical function that his tower could serve. Beyond
providing spectacle, Effel turned his attention to scientific research, believing
(02:11):
that if his tower served as the site of scientific breakthroughs,
no one would dare to tear it down. At first,
Effel didn't commit the tower to just one branch of study,
declaring that quote it will be an observatory and a
laboratory such as science has never had at its disposal.
(02:32):
Throughout the eighteen nineties, the Efel Tower served as the
test site for weather research, powered flight, and eventually radio communications.
There were successes in all of these areas, but it
was the emerging field of radio technology that ultimately saved
the Ffel Tower. In late eighteen, gust Off Fel invited
(02:57):
inventor Eugene Ducrete to conduct experiments from the tower's third floor.
On November five of that year, Ducrete succeeded in establishing
the first radio contact in Morse code between the fl
Tower and the historic Pantheon, about four kilometers or two
(03:17):
and a half miles away. At the time, the primary
way to communicate over long distances was by using a
telegraph to send a message across an electric wire. Ducrete's
experiments made him the first person in France to send
a telegraph message not with wires, but with radio waves instead.
(03:39):
Following his success, a permanent transmitting station was installed on
the tower, and a year later it enabled the first
radio transmissions between Paris and London. By nineteen oh three,
Gustoff Fell was still concerned that his tower might be
knocked down, so he decided to make a play for
(03:59):
the military. He invited army officials to conduct their own
experiments on radio communications at the tower, and to sweeten
the deal, i Fell even paid the army's expenses. By
that point, military authorities were intrigued by the potential of
budding radio technology, and with a Fell footing, the bill,
(04:20):
they couldn't pass up the chance to see what it
could really do. Captain Gustav Ferrier of the Army Engineering
Corps was tasked with conducting the research on the Army's behalf.
Ferrier was a graduate of the prestigious Polytechnic School in France,
and since eighteen ninety seven he had served as the
head of the newly formed Military Telegraphy School, where he
(04:44):
was considered an expert on telegraph communications. Ferrier carried out
his work from a wooden shack at the foot of
the tower southern pillar. From there, he and a small
team of specialists began making radio contact with various forts
around Paris. Within a year, Ferrier had established communication with
(05:05):
eastern forts as far as four hundred kilometers or two
hundred and fifty miles away. The next milestone was making
contact with a naval base all the way in Tunisia,
but the team didn't stop there and continued working to
extend their range over the course of several years. Finally,
(05:25):
on January twelfth, eight Ferrier achieved true long distance communication
by transmitting a radio message to a military installation six
thousand kilometers or thirty seven hundred miles away. Before the
year was out, the Fel Tower was broadcasting wireless telegraph
(05:47):
signals to ships and forts as far away as Berlin, Germany, Casablanca, Morocco,
and even North America. This breakthrough was more than enough
to convince the French Army of the importance of radio
communications and modern warfare. The military established a permanent radio
station at the tower in nineteen o nine, and in
(06:10):
nineteen ten, Gustoff Ifell got his wish when the city
of Paris renewed the structures permit for an additional seventy years.
The fl Tower had been saved. From then on, the
tower continued to serve as a transmitter and receiver for
radio transmissions. In fact, many German messages were intercepted by
(06:33):
the towers Antennis stand during the First World War. This
allowed the French Army to thwart several key German attacks
and even led to the arrest of Mata Hari, the
Dutch exotic dancer turned notorious spy. With the towers strategic
importance well demonstrated, its broadcasting abilities were then open to
(06:54):
public use. In nineteen twenty one, the towers radio station
and transmitting the first music programs in France and In nine,
a transmitter on the tower began broadcasting the country's first
television signals from a nearby studio. Today, more than a
hundred antennas and satellite dishes adorn the tower summit, extending
(07:19):
its height by a full twenty four meters and making
it the tallest structure in Paris. Although it's no longer
an active research site, the Ffel Tower owes its existence
to science. The vision of Gustave I Fell and the
brilliance of Gustave Ferrier made certain the tower survival, and
(07:40):
both men would be happy to know that recent analysis
suggests the tower will stand for at least another two
hundred to three hundred years. I'm Gave Louisier, and hopefully
you now know a little more about history today than
you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with
(08:00):
the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram at t d I HC Show, and if you
have any comments or suggestions, you can always send them
my way at this day at I heart media dot com.
Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank
you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow
(08:22):
for another day in History class For more podcasts from
iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that gives a quick look it's something that
happened a long time ago. Today I'm Gay Bluesier and
in this episode, we're looking at the day when a
(00:21):
breakthrough in radio science helped protect one of the most
famous landmarks in the world. The day was January twelfth,
French radio pioneer Gustaf Ferrier transmitted the first long distance
(00:43):
message ever sent from the Ffel Tower. The successful transmission
convinced the French Army of the utility of radio communications
and ensured that the Ffel Tower would not be torn
down as originally intended. Today it's hard to imagine the
Paris skyline without the iconic Effel Tower, but it was
(01:05):
never intended to be a permanent addition. In eighteen eighty nine,
Paris hosted the World's Fair, also known as the Exposition Universal,
as a way to mark the one hundredth anniversary of
the French Revolution. The city wanted an eye catching structure
to mark the entrance to the fair on the sham
(01:25):
dumas a public green space in the middle of Paris.
High profile artists from across the country submitted proposals, but
in the end, the city chose Gustav Effel's three hundred
meter high tower. Ethel received a twenty year lease on
the land, meaning that full ownership of the lot and
(01:45):
the tower would revert to the city of Paris on
January first, nineteen ten. The artist hated the idea that
his masterpiece would be demolished due to a perceived lack
of utility, so from very early on he started looking
for a practical function that his tower could serve. Beyond
providing spectacle, Effel turned his attention to scientific research, believing
(02:11):
that if his tower served as the site of scientific breakthroughs,
no one would dare to tear it down. At first,
Effel didn't commit the tower to just one branch of study,
declaring that quote it will be an observatory and a
laboratory such as science has never had at its disposal.
(02:32):
Throughout the eighteen nineties, the Efel Tower served as the
test site for weather research, powered flight, and eventually radio communications.
There were successes in all of these areas, but it
was the emerging field of radio technology that ultimately saved
the Ffel Tower. In late eighteen, gust Off Fel invited
(02:57):
inventor Eugene Ducrete to conduct experiments from the tower's third floor.
On November five of that year, Ducrete succeeded in establishing
the first radio contact in Morse code between the fl
Tower and the historic Pantheon, about four kilometers or two
(03:17):
and a half miles away. At the time, the primary
way to communicate over long distances was by using a
telegraph to send a message across an electric wire. Ducrete's
experiments made him the first person in France to send
a telegraph message not with wires, but with radio waves instead.
(03:39):
Following his success, a permanent transmitting station was installed on
the tower, and a year later it enabled the first
radio transmissions between Paris and London. By nineteen oh three,
Gustoff Fell was still concerned that his tower might be
knocked down, so he decided to make a play for
(03:59):
the military. He invited army officials to conduct their own
experiments on radio communications at the tower, and to sweeten
the deal, i Fell even paid the army's expenses. By
that point, military authorities were intrigued by the potential of
budding radio technology, and with a Fell footing, the bill,
(04:20):
they couldn't pass up the chance to see what it
could really do. Captain Gustav Ferrier of the Army Engineering
Corps was tasked with conducting the research on the Army's behalf.
Ferrier was a graduate of the prestigious Polytechnic School in France,
and since eighteen ninety seven he had served as the
head of the newly formed Military Telegraphy School, where he
(04:44):
was considered an expert on telegraph communications. Ferrier carried out
his work from a wooden shack at the foot of
the tower southern pillar. From there, he and a small
team of specialists began making radio contact with various forts
around Paris. Within a year, Ferrier had established communication with
(05:05):
eastern forts as far as four hundred kilometers or two
hundred and fifty miles away. The next milestone was making
contact with a naval base all the way in Tunisia,
but the team didn't stop there and continued working to
extend their range over the course of several years. Finally,
(05:25):
on January twelfth, eight Ferrier achieved true long distance communication
by transmitting a radio message to a military installation six
thousand kilometers or thirty seven hundred miles away. Before the
year was out, the Fel Tower was broadcasting wireless telegraph
(05:47):
signals to ships and forts as far away as Berlin, Germany, Casablanca, Morocco,
and even North America. This breakthrough was more than enough
to convince the French Army of the importance of radio
communications and modern warfare. The military established a permanent radio
station at the tower in nineteen o nine, and in
(06:10):
nineteen ten, Gustoff Ifell got his wish when the city
of Paris renewed the structures permit for an additional seventy years.
The fl Tower had been saved. From then on, the
tower continued to serve as a transmitter and receiver for
radio transmissions. In fact, many German messages were intercepted by
(06:33):
the towers Antennis stand during the First World War. This
allowed the French Army to thwart several key German attacks
and even led to the arrest of Mata Hari, the
Dutch exotic dancer turned notorious spy. With the towers strategic
importance well demonstrated, its broadcasting abilities were then open to
(06:54):
public use. In nineteen twenty one, the towers radio station
and transmitting the first music programs in France and In nine,
a transmitter on the tower began broadcasting the country's first
television signals from a nearby studio. Today, more than a
hundred antennas and satellite dishes adorn the tower summit, extending
(07:19):
its height by a full twenty four meters and making
it the tallest structure in Paris. Although it's no longer
an active research site, the Ffel Tower owes its existence
to science. The vision of Gustave I Fell and the
brilliance of Gustave Ferrier made certain the tower survival, and
(07:40):
both men would be happy to know that recent analysis
suggests the tower will stand for at least another two
hundred to three hundred years. I'm Gave Louisier, and hopefully
you now know a little more about history today than
you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with
(08:00):
the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram at t d I HC Show, and if you
have any comments or suggestions, you can always send them
my way at this day at I heart media dot com.
Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank
you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow
(08:22):
for another day in History class For more podcasts from
iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
This Day in History Class News
Host
Gabe Luzier
Show Links
AboutPopular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.