From the History of the Radio

Radio, like many other inventions, developed from the

theories and experiments of many people. A Princeton University

professor, Joseph Henry, and a British physicist, Michael Faraday, discovered

one of the first important ideas in the early 1800’s.Henry and Faraday had

experimented with electromagnets. Working separately, they each developed the

theory that a current in one wire can produce a current in another

wire, even though the wires are not connected. This idea is called the

induction theory. In 1864,James C. Maxwell, another British physicist, helped

explain the induction theory by suggesting the existence of electromagnetic

waves that travel at the speed of light. In the 1880’s,the German physicist

Heinrich Hertz performed experiments that proved Maxwell’s theory to be

correct.

In 1895,Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor, combined earlier ideas and

his own ideas and sent the first radio communication signals through the

air. He used electromagnetic waves to send telegraph code signals a distance

of more than 1 mile(1.6 kilometers).In 1901,Marconi’s radio equipment sent

code across the Atlantic Ocean from England to Newfoundland.

During the early 1900’s,electrical engineers developed various kinds of

vacuum tubes that could be used to detect and to amplify radio signals. The

invention of such tubes led to the development of radio equipment for

sending and receiving speech and other sounds.

There are many claims for the first broadcast of human speech over the

air. Most historians give credit to Reginald A. Fessenden , a Canadian-born

physicist. In 1906,Fessenden spoke by radio from Brant Rock, Mass., to ships

offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. The American inventor Edwin H.Armstrong did

much to improve radio receivers. In 1918,he developed the super heterodyne

circuit. Later, in 1933,he discovered how to make FM broadcasts.

The first practical use of the “wireless” ,as radio was then called ,was

for ship-to-shore communication. Radio helped save the lives of thousands of

victims of sea disasters. The first sea rescue involving the use of radio

took place in 1909,after the S.S. Republic collided with another ship in the

Atlantic Ocean. The Republic radioed a call for help that brought rescuers

who saved almost all the passengers. Radio also aided in the rescue of the

survivors of the famous Titanic shipwreck in 1912.

Dozens of new uses were soon found for radio. By the 1930’s,airplane

pilots, and police and military personnel were using radio for quick

communication.

The start of broadcasting

Experimental radio broadcasts began about

1910.In that year, Lee De Forest produced a program from the Metropolitan

Opera House in New York City. The program starred the famous singer Enrico

Caruso. An experimental radio station opened at the University of Wisconsin

in Madison in 1915,and another began operating in Wilkinsburg, a suburb of

Pittsburgh, in 1916.

Many persons consider radio station WWJ,in Detroit ,the first commercial

radio station. It began regular broadcasts on August 20,1920.Others claim

the distinction for station KDKA in Pittsburgh. KDKA grew out of the

Wilkinsburg experimental station that began in 1916.Its starting date as a

regular broadcasting station is uncertain. But the station’s broadcast of

the 1920 presidential election results on Nov.2,1920,is generally

considered the beginning of professional broadcasting. The first license to

broadcast regularly went to station WBZ in Springfield, Mass. The federal

government issued the license on Sept.15,1921.

Stations soon sprang up in all parts of the United States. Network

broadcasting began as early as October,1922At that time, WJZ in New York

City and WGY in Schenectady, N.Y., broadcast the World Series. The two

stations formed a simple network. They were connected by telephone

lines. Network broadcasting-or, as it was called, chain broadcasting-soon

included stations across the country. The Radio Corporation of America(RCA)

formed NBC, the first permanent national network, in 1926.

The Golden Age of Broadcasting

Began about 1925 and lasted until about1950.During this period,radio was a major source of familyentertainment.Every night,families throughout the country gathered in their living rooms to listen to comedies,action-packed adventure dramas,music,and

other kinds of radio entertainment.Children hurried home from school to

hear late afternoon adventure shows designed for them.During the

daytime,millions of women listened to dramas that were called soap operas

because soap manufactures sponsored many of them.

Radio’s famous comedians included Fred Allen,Jack Benny,Eddie Cantor,and

Bob Hope.Situation comedies included the “Amos ’n’Andy” show,starring

Freman Gosden as Amos and Charles Correll as Andy;and the”Fibber McGee and

Molly” show,featuring the husband-and-wife team of Jim and Marian

Jordan.The husband-and-wife comedy team of George Burns and Gracie Allen

also gained fame in radio.Radio brought to the home the music of every

famous band leader,including Tommy Dorsey,Duke Ellington,Benny