From mobile phones to DAB, television and the internet, radio waves surround us as part of everyday life. Dover played an important part in the early days of the experiments that led to the development of those radio waves that today let us share words wirelessly across the globe.
International Marconi Day is a fantastic chance for visitors to get hands‑on with the history of communication. From sending Morse and semaphore signals to recreating the 1899 cross‑Channel message. See the story of early wireless technology brought to life in the building where Marconi made history.
The Maison Dieu is one of 56 venues around the world taking part in International Marconi Day, celebrating east Kent’s links with the early history of radio, and Marconi's legacy, with a range of free activities for all ages.
Visitors will be able to:
- Discover Dover’s links with the birth of radio.
- Chat to people from around the world.
- Send a message in Morse code.
- Send semaphore flag signals across the gallery.
- Enjoy humorous and dark tales.
- Recreate the 1899 cross‑Channel message with radio friends in France.
- Learn about Kent’s Marconi links, including at South Foreland Lighthouse
- Create and colour their own naval signal flags.
What's happening where
Maison Dieu, Dover
- short wave transmissions by Dover Amateur Radio Club
- Semaphore flag workshops
- artefacts from the Museum of Spy Radio near Dover
- Crystal Radio sets made by local school and youth groups
- performances of two, short light-hearted sketches
- volunteers from Deal’s Timeball Tower Museum will explain the optical Shutter Telegraph system
- a team from Kent Downs National Landscape will share information about the cross‑Channel Geopark Transmanche.
Dover Market Square
- Dover Amateur Radio Club ‘roving sets’ allowing members of the public to talk on air at certain times
South Foreland Lighthouse on the White Cliffs
- The Maison Dieu will link with South Foreland Lighthouse where both short wave and Morse code demonstrations will take place.
Wimereux, France
The first ever ship to shore radio transmission was made from the East Goodwin Lightship to South Foreland Lighthouse in December 1898 and the first radio link between France and England was established at Wimereux near Boulogne in March 1899. Enthusiasts from Dover Amateur Radio Club will transmit across the Channel and link with French partners in Wimereux at 12.30pm, recreating the two‑way cross‑Channel message first sent from the Maison Dieu in 1899.
More about Marconi and White Cliffs Country
Renowned inventor and pioneer of radio, Guglielmo Marconi (25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was renowned for his pioneering work in wireless communication and has many links to White Cliffs Country.
- The world’s first ship‑to‑shore radio transmission was made from the East Goodwin Lightship to South Foreland Lighthouse in December 1898.
- The first ever international wireless signal was sent from Wimereux in France to South Foreland Lighthouse in March 1899.
- Marconi was a member of Dover's Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club.
- The Marconi Company addressed the British Association for the Advancement of Science at the Maison Dieu in September 1899, demonstrating its innovation by transmitting a message to Boulogne.
Other venues taking part in International Marconi Day include:
- Port Stanley, Falkland Islands
- Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia
- Signal Hill, Newfoundland, Canada
- Castel Gandolfo, Rome
- New Jersey, USA