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
Technical University of Moldova
Radioelectronics and Telecommunication Department
Foreign languages chair
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