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Important Dates in Radio History

Source: World Book Encyclopedia

1864 -- James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light.

1880s -- Heinrich Hertz proved Maxwell's theory.

1895 -- Guglielmo Marconi became the first man to send radio communication signals through the air.

1906 -- Reginald A. Fessenden broadcast voice by radio.

1909 -- Passengers of the S.S. Republic were saved in the first sea rescue using radio.

1919 -- Woodrow Wilson became the first U.S. President to make a radio broadcast. He spoke from a ship to World War I troops aboard other vessels.

1920 -- Stations KDKA of Pittsburgh and WWJ of Detroit made the first regular commercial broadcasts.

c. 1925-1950 -- Radio was a major source of family home entertainment during the Golden Age of Broadcasting.

c. 1932-1945 -- The power of radio was recognized by President Franklin Roosevelt, who bypassed the Congress and the press and went directly to the American people with his famous "fireside chats."

1947 -- Scientists at the Bell Telephone Laboratories developed the transistor.

1960 -- John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon held the first radio and television debates between two presidential candidates. The difference between the two mediums became evident as most radio listeners believed Nixon bested his foe, but television viewers gave the nod to Kennedy.

1961 -- Soviet space officals held the first radio talks with a man in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

1960s -- Stereophonic radio broadcasting began.

1969 -- Radio signals carried to earth the first words spoken by men on the moon.

1982 -- A.M. radio stations in the United States began broadcasting in stero.