| Description | Correspondence with Francis G. Baily [1868-1945, electrical engineer]. The majority of these letters and papers relate to a discussion which arose following the publication of a letter in the 'Daily Telegraph' by an unknown correspondent about the 40th anniversary of Marconi's first radio patent on 2 June 1936. Baily responded to this letter to point out that it was Oliver Lodge who first publicly demonstrated wireless communication in 1894. In addition to correspondence between Lodge and Baily, the papers also include Baily's correspondence with others on the subject and his letter in manuscript and published format to the 'Daily Telegraph'. It is not obvious how all these papers ended up in Lodge's hands and it is also clear that not all the correspondence between Lodge and Baily has survived. The final letter in the file, from Baily to the scientist Sir Richard Gregory, indicates that in 1940 some or all the papers were passed to Gregory.
/1 Letter from Francis G. Baily to Oliver Lodge, written from 46 South Hill Road, Liverpool, dated 21 September 1892. Baily reports on his trip to London to source equipment for the laboratory and discusses progress with construction. He suggests changes to the lecture timetable.
/2 Letter from Francis G. Baily to Oliver Lodge, written from University College, Liverpool, dated 26 September 1892. Baily sends an update on installation of fixtures and fittings at the laboratory. He includes two small diagrams in text.
/3 Letter from Francis G. Baily to Oliver Lodge, written from University College, Liverpool, dated 10 December 1895. Baily resigns the post of Departmental Lecturer in Electric Technology at University College having been appointed Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics at Heriot Watt College in Edinburgh.
/4-7 Various drafts of letter from Oliver Lodge to Francis G. Baily, dated 24-25 August 1936, giving an account of his 1897 patent for telegraphy and subsequent court cases and dealings with the Marconi Company.
/8 Letter from Oliver Lodge to Francis G. Baily, written from Normanton House, Lake, near Salisbury, dated 25 August 1936. This signed letter appears to be the final version Lodge sent to Baily on the subject of his 1897 patent for telegraphy and subsequent legal matters.
/9 Letter from Oliver Lodge to Francis G. Baily, written from Normanton House, Lake, near Salisbury, dated 28 July 1936. Lodge thanks Baily for writing to the Telegraph about his early work in wireless communication. He notes with sadness the treatment of Hertz's family in Germany.
/10 Typescript copy of extract from The Electrician, 17 September 1897, in which the author disputes Marconi's claim to wireless telegraphy patent.
/11 [Manuscript copy of] letter from Francis G. Baily to Daily Telegraph, dated 11 June 1936. Baily points out that Oliver Lodge was the first person to demonstrate wireless communication in 1894. With newspaper cutting featuring letter to the editor from an unnamed correspondent on the same subject. The wording of the manuscript and printed letters is not exactly the same.
/12 Letter from John R. Wade to Francis Baily, written from Carrowmore, Aughrim, Ballinasloe, dated 18 June 1936. Wade relays a story told by his uncle, the late F. T. Trouton, about his realisation that a radio receiver invented by Marconi was the same design as Lodge's 'coherer'.
/13 Letter from Francis G. Baily to Sir Richard Gregory, written from Newbury, Juniper Green, Midlothian, dated 25 November 1940. Baily sends letters and papers sent to him by Lodge. |