Origins & Early Life

Alexander Stepanovich Popov (sometimes spelled Popoff; Russian: Александр Степанович Попов; 16 March [O.S. 4 March] 1859 – 13 January 1906 [O.S. 31 December 1905]) was a Russian physicist who was one of the first people to invent a radio receiving device. Popov's work as a teacher at a Russian naval school led him to explore high-frequency electrical phenomena.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

On 7 May 1895, he presented a paper on a wireless lightning detector he had built that worked via using a coherer to detect radio noise from lightning strikes. This day is celebrated today in Russia as Radio Day. In a 24 March 1896 demonstration, he transmitted radio signals 250 meters between different campus buildings in St. Petersburg. His work was based on that of another physicist, Oliver Lodge, and contemporaneous with the work of Guglielmo Marconi.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Born in the town of Krasnoturyinsk, currently Sverdlovsk Oblast, in the Urals as the son of a priest, he became interested in natural sciences when he was a child. His father wanted Alexander to join the priesthood and sent him to the Seminary School at Yekaterinburg. There he developed an interest in science and mathematics and instead of going on to Theology...

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