Who is Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) from Thunderstruck and what is their importance?

Guglielmo Marconi was the pioneer of wireless transmission. His story is at the center of the history narrated in Thunrderstuck. Marconi grew up south of Bologna, Italy, and is enthralled from an early age by electricity. When he read Heinrich Hertz's obituary he was struck by the notion that it is possible to send messages using the electromagnetic waves that had been the basis of experiments conducted by Hertz.