The first public transatlantic wireless conversation connected a U.S. leader with a British monarch. Who were they?

The first public transatlantic wireless conversation connected a U.S. leader with a British monarch. Who were they?

• A. Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward of England
• B. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Queen Elizabeth II
• C. Abraham Lincoln and Queen Victoria
• D. George Washington and King George III

Answer: (A)

The pairing is Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII. In the early 1900s, wireless telegraphy was becoming capable of long-distance, two-way communication across the Atlantic thanks to Marconi’s work. Theodore Roosevelt was U.S. president from 1901 to 1909, and King Edward VII reigned from 1901 to 1910, so they were contemporaries who could engage in a public transatlantic exchange. The other options pair people who either weren’t alive or weren’t rulers at overlapping times, so they wouldn’t have had such a cross-Atlantic conversation.

The pairing is Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII. In the early 1900s, wireless telegraphy was becoming capable of long-distance, two-way communication across the Atlantic thanks to Marconi’s work. Theodore Roosevelt was U.S. president from 1901 to 1909, and King Edward VII reigned from 1901 to 1910, so they were contemporaries who could engage in a public transatlantic exchange. The other options pair people who either weren’t alive or weren’t rulers at overlapping times, so they wouldn’t have had such a cross-Atlantic conversation.