Rev. Joseph Murgas
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Pioneer in development of overland wireless telegraphy. In 1898 he began his experiments on these grounds. His first public transmission of sound was made here on Nov. 23, 1905. Pastor, artist, biologist, and a supporter of Slovak aspirations, he died 1929.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Father Joseph Murgas was a Catholic priest in Wilkes-Barre who was also a restless inventor, and on these grounds in 1898 he began experimenting with wireless telegraphy. In 1905 he transmitted sound here in a public demonstration, part of the frantic international race to master radio in the years around Marconi's breakthroughs. A painter, naturalist, and passionate advocate for Slovak causes, Murgas embodied the immigrant clergy who bridged Old World loyalties and New World innovation before his death in 1929.
Why it matters
Murgas's experiments place a Pennsylvania coal-country parish at the frontier of wireless communication, and his life reflects the outsized role Slovak and other immigrants played in America's age of invention.
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Related people
- · Rev. Joseph Murgas
Related events
- · Early wireless telegraphy experiments
Themes & tags
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