Jozef Murgaš
Jozef Murgaš was a Slovak inventor,
painter and priest who contributed greatly towards the development of
wireless communications. From a young age he was bright and clever, and
showed interest in painting and science. After completing his
graduation, he was unable to study further because of financial
difficulties and decided to become a priest. But when his painting
talent was spotted by a Slovak painter, he was admitted to an arts
school and went on to become an accomplished painter. He used to paint
sacral pieces, Slovak landscapes and Slovak personalities. Later, he
traveled to the United States and set up a workshop which helped him to
perform experiments on wireless technology. After tireless research and
intense work, he had a breakthrough and came up with a new method of
wireless transmission. He developed a musical tone system that enabled
faster recognition of Morse code signals and also achieved radio
transmission over a considerable distance. In 1917, when America entered
the First World War, all the private radio-telegraphic stations were
banned. Thereafter, he worked towards creation of a common state of
Czechs and Slovaks in Czechoslovakia. After his health deteriorated, he
gave away his entire life’s research and patent rights to Marconi, as he
did not want his work to be lost after him. He was a generous man whose
contributions towards creating a better society are deemed priceless
Childhood & Early Life
- Jozef Murgaš was born on February 17, 1864, in Tajov, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire (present day Slovakia), to Ján Murgaš, and his wife, Zuzana.
- From an early age, he displayed talent in painting and science. He was enrolled at a grammar school in Tajov and later went on to complete his high school in Banská Bystrica.
- Jozef’s parents were unable to lend him financial support for further studies, as a result, he decided to become a priest. From 1880 to 1882, he studied theology in Prešporok, then continued in Esztergom from 1882 to 1884, and finally graduated in Banska Bystrica in 1888.
- After getting ordained in 1888, he worked as a curate for some time and was soon approached by Dominik Skutecký, a Slovak painter who noticed his artistic talent.
- On Skutecký's initiative, he was admitted to Provincial School of Visual Arts, a painting school in Budapest, where he studied between 1889 and1890. Thereafter, he went to study painting in Munich, from 1890 to 1893.
Major Works
- In 1905, he achieved radio transmission between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania, situated 20 miles away.
- While residing in Wilkes-Barre, he took care of Slovak immigrants, and helped in the construction of a new church, library, cemetery, several schools, gymnasium and playgrounds. He also co-founded the Saints Cyril and Methodius community and the Slovak Catholic Federation.
- He was actively involved in the Slovak expatriates’ movement and supported the creation of the state of Czechoslovakia. He was also a signatory of the Pittsburgh Agreement between Czechs and Slovaks.Personal Life & Legacy
- Jozef Murgaš died of a heart attack on May 11, 1929, in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. He was buried at the Sacred Heart Cemetery, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Named after him, the ‘Jozef Murgaš Award’ is awarded annually by the ‘Slovak Electrotechnical Society and Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications of the Slovak Republic’ to support the development of telecommunications in Slovakia.
