12 Radio and 3 Music Events

  • The Birth of Radio

    In 1888, Heirich Heinz became the father of radio. He ultimately proved the existence of electromagnetic waves by detecting them and was the first to produce radio waves. The unit of frequency, "hertz", was named after him.
  • First Transmission With Voice

    Before 1906, morse code was used for communication. But a phycisist named Reginald Fessenden developed the first long-distance radio transmission with human voice. Music and commercial broadcasts were sparked by this event.
  • Radio Music Station

    In 1910, an experimental transmission of several opera singers singing was the first public radio broadcast. This event ignited the existence of music stations that are present today.
  • First Presidential Election Broadcast

    November 2, 1920 marks the first ever US licensed radio broadcast in history. The commercial broadcast was for presidential election results.
  • Preaching Through The Air

    In 1922, Jehovah's Witness Joseph Rutherford transmitted the first Bible sermon on the radio.
  • From America to Britain

    In 1921, Britain challenged America to see if they transmit and recieve radio waves from across the Atlantic ocean. November 27, 1923 marked the first two-way radio transmission across the Atlantic.
  • The Cuckoo Hour

    Today we hear alot of comedians on the radio. This all started in 1929 when NBC lauched the first radio sitcom, The Cuckoo Hour. This influenced later comedy progams that were popular during the Great Depression.
  • Great Depression

    The Great Depression was the golden age of the radio. Fsmilies would gather around the radio every night to hear what was on the air. Comedy programs were extremely popular at the time.
  • The Great Depression

    When the US Stock Market crashed, obviously people weren't buying alot of albums. This spelled the end of many careers of singers. Who knows how many great voices were lost at that time?
  • Hitler's Speech

    Nine months after Hitler took over the German Reich, he made a speech that was broadcasted over the radio. This was to promote rearmament, and won over the people when he mentioned service for war.
  • Attack on Pearl Harbor

    The attaack on Pearl Harbor was covered over the radio, getting the attention of the media and dragging the US into WWII. The following day, President Roosevelt delivered The Infamy Speech and declared war on Japan.
  • D-Day

    D-Day was the day that changed the tide of the war and the world with it. Complete coverage on the invasion of Normandy was completely covered over the radio.
  • The Birth of Modern Music

    1948 (date unknown) was the day modern music was born. Les Paul invents multi-tracking and changes the face of music forever.
  • Elvis Presley Records at Sun Studios

    Elvis Presley made a huge mark on modern music history. The first time his voice was on the air changed music on the radio forever.
  • The Beatles Arrive In America

    When the insanely-popular British boy band stepped off the plane into America, a crowd of 3,000 screaming fans were there to greet them. The Beatles arrival in the US was the start of many albums that expanded the view of modern music.
  • Wow! Signal

    In 1977, a man was working on a SETI project when he got a 72 second long radio transmission from outer space. To this day noone can track down the signal. I ain't sayin' it was aliens, but it was aliens.