Referee's whistle - William Atack

The referee's whistle is a normal feature of sports games, but Cantabrian William Atack was the first sports referee in the world to use a whistle to stop a game. As a rugby referee, Atack found the use of the voice exhausting and found the whistle to be a great success. It was soon adopted all over the country and then world.

Birmingham local Joseph Hudson invented the first modern whistle in 1868.

Like so many other pieces of modern technology, the first use of a ‘whistling device’ can be traced back to ancient China. When night watchmen needed to alert towns of an impending Mongolian attack, they would blow into the top of an acorn to make a shrilling, warning sound. However, in the mid-to-late 19th century Joseph Hudson developed a whistle which was a little less nutty (pun intended). This whistle was developed primarily for the police, who had previously used hand rattles to get a criminal’s attention. Hudson’s brainchild was the Acme Thunderer pea whistle, a small device which, when blown into, would rattle a small light ball to make a distinct sound. Police could now direct traffic with ease.

Prior to the invention of the whistle, referees used the power of their voice or the theatrical fluttering of a handkerchief to make players stop and listen to them. In 1884, Cantabrian genius William Atack used a whistle to call an end to a rugby game, forever changing the face of sports and empowering disillusioned referees all over the world.