A pioneer in the field of radio communication, Fessenden was born in East Bolton Township. He left Canada in 1884 and, while a school principal in Bermuda, became a self-taught expert on telecommunication theory. This expertise led to research appointments in the United States where he made a number of important discoveries including one to facilitate the audible reception of radio waves. After 1912 he concentrated on problems concerning marine navigation, inventing the fathometer (a sonic depth finder) and, during the First World War, an instrument for detecting submarines.