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The story of the Brazilian priest who developed the radio before other famous inventors, but ended up being persecuted, falling into oblivion for decades.
Roberto Landell de Moura is a name that, although little known to most, was decisive in the development of telecommunications. Born in Porto Alegre on January 21, 1861, the priest from Rio Grande do Sul was not only a contemporary of figures such as Nikola Tesla, Graham Bell and Heinrich Hertz, but also one of the first to transmit voice over radio waves.
Despite its innovations, the lack of local support and its own limitation in ambitions resulted in a legacy relegated to oblivion.
The making of a genius
Landell de Moura's story begins early, when he was still a teenager.
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At the age of 16, he wrote in his manuscripts that he had invented a telephone device similar to the one created by Graham Bell. However, Landell de Moura's path was marked by indecision.
In 1876, he moved from Porto Alegre to Rio de Janeiro to study at the Polytechnic School, but ended up being convinced by his brother to follow a religious vocation, moving to Rome, where between 1878 and 1886, he completed his ecclesiastical studies.
Although his formal training was focused on religion, it was during this period that Landell de Moura began to develop his interest in science, especially physics, a field that would open doors to his revolutionary discoveries.
The first radio
Landell de Moura's greatest achievement, which made him a pioneer in telecommunications, was the transmission of voice via radio waves, something unprecedented at the time.
In 1890, he made the first public demonstration of this feat, in São Paulo, marking history as the first wireless voice transmission, a milestone for communication technology.
The following year, Landell de Moura patented his equipment in Brazil, demonstrating his belief in the invention's potential. However, without support from the Brazilian authorities, the inventor tried to make a name for himself in the United States, where he managed to register additional patents.
Upon returning to Brazil, his invention again encountered resistance.
The Brazilian government did not provide the necessary support for the wireless telephone to be improved or developed, which resulted in the stagnation of its research.
The legacy of Landell de Moura
Despite the difficulties, Landell de Moura left an important legacy for the field of telecommunications. His inventions, however, were limited.
More recent reproductions of his cordless telephone showed that the device worked, but with a rather distorted sound quality. But the lack of recognition and investment by Brazil did not diminish his achievements.
The invention of the cordless telephone, although not very effective, was a big step towards communication without cables.
Another significant contribution by Landell de Moura was his discovery that high-frequency shortwaves were more effective for long-distance transmissions, an idea that would only be validated by the scientific community in the 1920s, many years after its proposal.
Television and Teleforama
Among the innovations attributed to Landell de Moura, the invention of a device for transmitting images also stands out, which would be a precursor to television.
In 1904, the inventor designed a device called the Teleforama. However, there is no concrete record of the equipment ever being assembled or tested, and the details of the design are quite vague.
Despite this, Landell de Moura's proposal anticipates, in a certain way, the concept of transmitting images via electromagnetic waves, being a very advanced idea for its time.
Between religion and science
Landell de Moura's life was not only marked by scientific discoveries. His commitment to the Catholic faith was as strong as his love for science.
In fact, his research into electromagnetism led him to controversial topics, such as parapsychology. He believed that it would be possible to establish contact with the dead through electromagnetic waves, which caused friction with more conservative sectors of the Catholic Church.
In one episode, his laboratory was vandalized by devotees who did not accept his approach.
Despite these controversies, Landell de Moura was never discredited by the Church.
When he died in 1928, at the age of 67, a victim of tuberculosis, he received the last sacraments directly from the metropolitan archbishop of Porto Alegre, which demonstrated the respect that still existed for him, both as a religious man and as a scientist.
His death, however, ended a trajectory marked by inconsistency, lack of support and, mainly, lack of recognition for his inventions.
Brazilian ignorance and Marconi's international success
Despite his patents and notable innovations, Landell de Moura did not receive the same recognition as other inventors of his time, such as the Italian Guglielmo Marconi, who is widely considered the creator of the radio and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909.
Marconi, unlike Landell de Moura, had the support of the Italian government, which allowed the development of his inventions and consolidated his place in history.
This lack of recognition from Brazilian authorities was one of the biggest obstacles to the success of the priest from Rio Grande do Sul. Even so, he continues to be remembered for his advanced vision and his contributions to the evolution of telecommunications.
The Precursor of Radio and Television
Roberto Landell de Moura, although ignored by many during his lifetime, deserves to be recognized as one of the great pioneers of telecommunications.
His invention of the cordless telephone, his discoveries about high-frequency waves, and his attempts to develop television are important milestones in the history of science.
However, his story is also a reflection of how institutional support can be crucial to the development of great innovations. Even though Brazil failed to recognize his genius, Landell de Moura remains an example of perseverance and innovation.
And since then things haven't changed much.
This country has always done everything to delay its taxpayers…who knows why.