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Radio Invented
Italian inventor Guglielmo Marcon developed and marketed the first successful long-distance wireless telegraph in 1895. He also broadcasted the first transatlantic radio signal in 1901. His company’s radios ended the isolation of ocean travel and saved hundreds of lives, including all of the surviving passengers from the Titanic. -
Audion Tube
In 1906, Lee de Forest created/borrowed the idea for the audion tube. The tube was a vacuum tool that amplified signals. It's Widely believed that canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden came up with idea but didnt make it into the books for it. The tube takes one signal and amplifies it to another to be higher so they can amplify further than before. -
First Song Played
On December 24, 1906, Reginald Fessenden broadcasted a short program from Brant Rock. He also played the song Holy Night on the violin himself. This was the first song ever broadcasted on radio. -
Frist Radio Stations
The first station, created in 1920, was 8KX. It was later renamed KDKA. It was created by Frank Conrad and is still broadcasting in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania -
Dawn of Advertising
Radio's significance came from advertisement. In 1922, WEAF radio station aired a 10 minute commercial. From the apartment complex, the commercial charged $50 just to air. -
The FRC
In 1927, the FRC was created in order to equally distribute radio station advertising time. This was a result of Uncle Charlie's radio popularity. This organized the licensing of transmitters and assigned call letters, station frequencies, and power limits. -
First Black Broadcast
"The All-Negro Hour" premiered on American broadcast radio. This was the first radio program to feature Black performers exclusively. On November 3, 1929, white owned radio station WSBC in Chicago premiered "The All-Negro Hour," the first radio program to feature Black performers exclusively. -
The Hindenburg Disaster
The Hindenburg disaster was broadcasted May 6th, 1937. Herb Morrison was the reporter at the scene for WLS of Chicago. He was even broadcasting when the helium-filled airship crashed and burst into flames. -
Hitler's Invasion of Austria
Hitler quietly invaded Austria in 1938. Hitler had yet to expand beyond his current boundries but he was gaining military power. In a speech to the Reichstag on May 21, 1935, Hitler declares "Germany neither intends nor wishes to interfere in the internal affairs of Austria, to annex Austria or to conclude an Anschluß." The shocking report of his attack on Austria was recorded. -
The War of the Worlds
Orson Welles wrote and directed a radio drama from the novel The War of the Worlds. The radio broadcast was supposed to be a Halloween special aired on October 30th, 1938. For an hour, the broadcaster told a series of stories. The stories were so real that people believed that there was a real invasion of Martians. It ended in some cities on the East Coast having outbreaks of mass hysteria. -
Britain Declares War
England's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain attempted to negotiate with Hitler to not cause battle. He tried to convince Hitler that war was not worth winning because British re-armament and the weak German economy would make Germany vulnerable to a British economic blockade. He later denounced Nazi Germany's attempt to attack Poland and the announcement was aired on radio. -
Victory Over Japan WWII
Japan officially surrendered after two atomic bombs were dropped on the nation on September 2, 1945. The first bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, but when this did not prompt a surrender, US President Harry Truman promised Japan that there would be another attack if they did not end it. The news was broadcasted over the radio. -
Elvis Presley
On January 27, 1956, Elvis released his first record. The record Elvis was so popular that a radio station aired it 18 times in a row. The song was requested so often that the DJ played it for the last 2 hours of his show. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
President John F. Kennedy warned the Soviet government that they must remove their nuclear missiles in Cuba or risk invasion by the United States. The Soviets installed nuclear missiles in Cuba in retaliation for the American nuclear missiles the United States had. The crisis lasted for 13 days in October of 1962. When President Kennedy spoke to the nation on October 22, 1962, it was broadcasted informing the citizens of the United States that an agreement had been reached. -
I Have a Dream MLK Speech
Martin Luther King's vision of racial equality in the United States was broadcasted in 1963. It was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial during a civil rights march in Washington, DC. His speech was geared towards jobs and freedom, and for blacks and whites to live together equally.
