Existing comment:
Photoradiogram of Charles Evans Hughes, 1924
by Richard H. Ranger
On July 6, 1924, the very first image ever to be sent wirelessly -- from New York to London and back again -- was this one of Hughes.
The event was the initial test of an invention which could send images by radio from any place on the globe to another. Called a Photoradiogram by its inventor Richard H. Ranger, lead engineer at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), it was a groundbreaking step in wireless technology and the development of today's visual internet culture. Why Ranger chose to send a photograph of Hughes for the maiden voyage of his new invention is unknown. However, at the time Hughes was not just Secretary of State but one of the most recognizable Americans in the world, and thus he may have appealed to Ranger as the perfect "virtual ambassador" for the transatlantic mission.
This print was made four months later, when the same image of Hughes was used again during the first public demonstration of the new technology. It is perhaps the only surviving artifact from that demonstration. |