The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897, which underwent several changes in name after mergers and acquisitions. The company was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming one of the UK's most successful manufacturing companies. In 1999, its defence equipment manufacturing division, Marconi Electronic Systems, merged with British Aerospace (BAe) to form BAE Systems. In 2006, financial difficulties led to the collapse of the remaining company, with the bulk of the business acquired by the Swedish telecommunications company, Ericsson. History Naming history 1897–1900: The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company 1900–1963: Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company 1963–1987: Marconi Company Ltd 1987–1998: GEC-Marconi Ltd 1998–1999: Marconi Electronic Systems Ltd 1999–2003: Marconi plc, with Marconi Communications as principal subsidiary 2003–2006: Marconi Corporation plc Early history Marconi's "Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company" was formed on 20 July 1897 after the granting of a British patent for wireless in March of that year. The company opened the world's first radio factory on Hall Street in Chelmsford northeast of London in 1898 and was responsible for some of the most important advances in radio and television. These include: The diode vacuum tube in 1904 (Fleming) Transatlantic radio broadcasting between Clifden, Ireland and Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, October 17, 1907. High frequency tuned broadcasting Formation of the British Broadcasting Company (later to become the independent BBC) Formation of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (assets acquired by RCA in 1920) Marconi International Marine Communication Co. (M.I.M.C.Co.), founded 1900 in London Compagnie de Télégraphie sans Fil (C.T.S.F.), founded 1900 in the City of Brussels Short wave beam broadcasting Radar Television Avionics The subsidiary Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, also called "American Marconi", was founded in 1899. It was the dominant radio communications provider in the US until the formation of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1919. In 1900 the company's name was changed to "Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company" and Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Training College was established in 1901. The company and factory was moved to New Street Works in 1912 to allow for production expansion in light of the RMS Titanic disaster. Along with private entrepreneurs, Marconi company formed in 1924 the Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI), which was