Radio History - Miles

Marconi sends first radio signal

Jun 23, 1895

Marconi sent & recieved the first radio signal in 1895. It's debated whether or not he really came up with the idea.

Lee de Forest "discovers" Audion tube

May 22, 1906

In 1906, Lee de Forest discovered the Audion tube. It's widely believed that Reginald Fessenden came up with the idea and had it stolen from him.

KDKA opens

Nov 2, 1920

KDKA, the first radio station, broadcasted on November 9th, 1920 as 8XK.

First radio commercial airs

Aug 28, 1922

In August 1922, the first commercial aired on a radio station. It was an advertisement for a telephone company that lasted 10 minutes.

FRC created

Dec 26, 1926

The Federal Radio Commission started as the result of too many personal radio stations popping up.

Golden Age of Radio

Dec 24, 1930

Radio stations started doing shows for entertainment during the Great Depression.

Edwin Armstrong invents FM transmitter

Dec 26, 1934

The FM transmitter increased quality of radio, but forced people to buy new boxes to listen to it.

Radio's decline

Jan 1, 1939

Shows started moving to TV and less people started listening to the radio

Radio starts playing music

Jan 23, 1940