Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Known the world across for its trademark doodles, global search engine Google has paid tribute to Austrian film actress-turned-inventor Hedy Lamarr on her 101st birthday today.
The doodle is a perfect tribute to the actress, since it highlights Lamarr in different scenarios - movie star by day, inventor by night – set in a musical video background.
Hedy Lamarr, born as Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on 9 November, 1914, appeared in numerous popular feature films, including Algiers (1938), I Take This Woman (1940), Comrade X (1940) with Clark Gable, Come Live With Me (1941), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941) and Samson and Delilah (1949).
Once dubbed ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’, Lamarr soon became bored by the film industry and acquired interest in helping the Allied war effort.
Lamarr's work on "frequency hopping," made her an exponent of new-age technology which paved the way for modern day technologies such as Bluetooth, GPS and WiFi that help us connect with the world.
Lamarr also had a role to play in World War II, where she along with her friend, George Antheil, used the principles of how pianos worked to identify a way to prevent German submarines from jamming Ally radio signals.
Lamarr died in Casselberry, Florida, on 19 January 2000, aged 85. Her death certificate cited three causes: heart failure, chronic valvular heart disease, and arteriosclerotic heart disease. She was later given an honorary grave in Vienna's Central Cemetery in 2014.
Here's remembering Hedy Lamarr – an actress and inventor par excellence!
