HEDYLAMARR

ACTRESS-INVENTOR-MATHEMATICIAN

Born in 1914, Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-born American actress, inventor, and film producer. She appeared in 30 films over a 28- year career, starring opposite of actors like Clark Gable and James Stewart.

She is most famous for her co-invention of an early version of frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication for torpedo guidance at the beginning of World War II. It’s purpose was to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers.

She also helped improve aircraft aerodynamics for Howard Hughes. Various spread-spectrum techniques derived from the inventions of Hedy Lamarr and are incorporated into Bluetooth technology and Wi-Fi.

Hedy Lamarr was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.