Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor living in Great Britain who was the first to develop, demonstrate and market the first successful long-distance wireless telegraph which was able to broadcast the first transatlantic radio signal.  His invention would end up saving hundreds of lives during the sinking of the Titanic and won a Noble Peace Price for this creation in 1909.  This is significant because of how vast the empire was, the English were now able to communicate more effectively over great differences.  Being able to communicate this efficiently gave Great Britain the ability to better control their colonies and further spread English ideology and values which would aid to the British Empire continuing to have global superiority.

Image: Guglielmo Marconi with his innovative communication device.

Source: http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/guglielmo-marconi