History of radio

1860 The birth of radio

1892 TESLA: Transmission of radio frequency energi is frequently exhibited in Nikola Tesla's experiments. He proposes that this could be used as a means of telecommunication.

1895 MARCONI: Guglielmo Marconi built a wireless system capable of transmitting signals at long distances.

1901 TRANSATLANTIC: Marconi conducts the first successful transatlantic radio communication.

1904 REVERSAL OF FORTUNE:The U.S. patent offece reverses the patent awared to Tesla and awards Marconi with the patent for the invention of the radio. Some speculate it is due to his financial backer, Thomas Edison.

1905 FLEMING VALVE: John Fleming invents the cauum tube diode that later helps Lee deForest create the three-element vacuum tube called the Audion. The Audion is considered one of the most important developments in the history of electronics.

1906 RADIO AUDIOCAST: Fessenden uses an Alexanderson alternator and rotary spark plug transmitter to make the first radio audio broadcast.

1920 FIRST RADIO STATIONS: Several radio stations claim to be the first public radio station. Some include KDKA Pittsburgh and 9XM University of Wisconsin.

1923 RADIO ACT: The Radio Act of 1927 re-assigns stations to clear frequencies and makes radio stations operate in the public's interest.

1933 FIRESIDE CHATS: People turn the radio for entertainment and comfort during the Great Depression. President becomes the first "radio president."

1933 FM RADIO: Edwin Armstrong invents FM (frecuency modulation) radio. FM provides static-free broadcasting and carries the full frequency range of sound perceptible to the human ear.

1938 INVASION FROM MARS: CBS broadcasts Orson Welles' adaptation of The War of the Worlds on a Halloween episode of the popular show Mercury Theatre on the Air. This caused panic among listeners who thought the alien invasion was real.

1943 MARONI'S PATENT: The U.S. Supreme Court reverses the patent issued to Marconi, helping the U.S. government to avoid paying damages to the Marconi Company for patent use during World War I.

1950 RADIO SUFFERS: Television is such a novelty that big stars, programs and advertisers defect from radio to TV. Radio begins to localize and concentrate on playing records.

1954 TRANSISTOR RADIO: Regency introduces the pocket transistor radio, the TR-1, which was powered by a standard 22.5V battery.

1963 TELSTAR: The world's technology focuses on space and radio is different. The first radio communication satellite, Telstar, is launched into space.

1984 RDS PROTOCOL: RDS allows small bits of data to be included in FM broadcasts, allowing stations to include artist and song info on digital radio displays.

1990 THE DIGITAL AGE: Amateur radio experimenters begin to use computers with audio cards to process radio signals, and the first digital transmissions begin to be broadcast.

1995 REAL AUDIO: Progressive Networks releases RealAudio, which offers AM-radio quality sound in real time.

1998 COPYRIGHT TROUBLE: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act forces internet radio broadcasts to pay additional rotalty frees in contrast to traditional radio stations, which only pay publishing royalties.

2003 A NEW SENSATION: Online Internet radio is valued at $49 million.

2004 PODCASTING: A neologism of broadcast and iPod, podcasting's success caused radio businesses to reconsider established preconceptions about audiences, production, and distribution.

2008 STREAMING POPULARITY: By 2008, streaming music radio's revenue rose to above $500 million. Nearly 13 percent of the American population had listened to the radio online.