As Mr. Rhodes relates, Hedy Lamarr was hardly an intellectual, but she was a indefatigable tinkerer.

WSJ: Book Review: Hedy's Folly

As you have said, in 1940 Hedy Lamar (Obituary, January 29th) and a film-score composer, George Antheil, developed the technology, then called spread spectrum.

ECONOMIST: Letters | The

Over the weekend, NPR broadcast a must-listen piece on the astounding inventing career of Hedy Lamarr, an actress once considered by some to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

FORBES: Hedy Lamarr, The Most Glamorous Geek Of All Time

They would do well to note the story of Hedy Lamarr and remember that innovation comes in many forms, often from unlikely sources, who all have one thing in common: a love for ideas and an urge to find out if they'll work.

WSJ: Book Review: Hedy's Folly

U.S. Patent No. 2, 292, 387 for a "Secret Communication System" was issued to Hedy Kiesler Markey and George Antheil in 1942. (Markey was the surname of a husband she had divorced in 1940.) The frequency-hopping technology was not put to use in World War II, but it was employed in 1962 during the blockade of Cuba.

WSJ: Book Review: Hedy's Folly