Eugène Ducretet

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Overview: Eugène Adrien Ducretet (November 27, 1844 – 1915) was a French scientific instrument manufacturer, who performed some of the first experiments on wireless telegraphy (radio communication) in France.

His work: Ducretet's work brought him into close contact with many prominent physicists of his day, from whom he learned a lot. He continued his education, attending courses at the Sorbonne and College de France as a 'auditeur libre'. In 1897, hearing about Guglielmo Marconi's pioneering experiments in wireless telegraphy (radio transmission), he built a transmitter and receiver and began his own experiments, becoming the first person

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 26, 2023

2. Eugène Ducretet Marker - wide view

in France to transmit radio waves. In November 1897 he transmitted radio signals 400 meters between his workshop and the Panthéon, attracting the interest of French President Félix Faure. On November 5, 1898 he caused a sensation with a public demonstration of wireless communication in the presence of representatives of the Académie des Sciences between the third floor of the Eiffel Tower and the Panthéon 4 km away. In 1897 he wrote to Russian physicist Alexander Stepanovich Popov, who had invented one of the first practical radio receivers but had not developed it, suggesting a collaboration. In 1898 he began to build radiotelegraph equipment using the Popov design. Between 1899 and 1904 he sold some of the first wireless stations to the Russian Navy, but the company was too small to provide the volume Russia needed. With his partner Ernest Roger he invented a type of telegraph key used in wireless telegraphy transmitters. In 1901 he wrote a book on the construction of wireless equipment.