The history of the radio, or wireless telegraph,
dates back more than a century.
Advancements over time, including voice
transmissions, have led to the radios that exist today.
Early radio communications were limited to simple
Morse Code transmissions. Like television, radio
broadcasts must follow specific Federal
Communications Commission (FCC)
regulations. In order to broadcast
legally on the radio, a person must
obtain a license from the FCC.
The invention of the radio, also known at the time as a
"wireless telegraph," has its roots in both the
telephone and telegraph machine. A German physicist
by the name of Heinrich Hertz first discovered the
existence of radio waves in 1887. On December 12th,
1901, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi and his
assistants were able to transmit across the Atlantic
without the use of wires, which at
the time was considered impossible.
This breakthrough in technology
gave way to radio communication.
An early telegraph device.
The transmission across the Atlantic achieved by
Guglielmo and his assistants was in the form of Morse
Code, tapping out the letter "S," however the first voice
transmission occurred on December 24th, 1906.
Canadian engineer Reginald Fessenden, who had
worked with Thomas Edison prior, became convinced
that the "wireless telegraph" could
not only transmit Morse Code, but
the human voice as well.
The transmission included Fessenden
reading from the Bible, playing the
violin, and a phonograph recording
of "Largo."
The first voice transmission took
place on Christmas Eve.
In 1910, the United States government made it
mandatory for all ships to contain a wireless telegraph,
as well as a wireless telegraph operator, on board in
case of emergency. The sinking of the Titanic led to the
Radio Act of 1912, which required all ships to have two
wireless telegraph operators on board at all times. The
Radio Act of 1927 was enacted to control the "chaos"
being created by amateur radio broadcasters.
As a result, The Federal Radio Commission
(FRC) was formed and given the
responsibility of either granting, or
denying, a person a license to
broadcast on the radio. In 1934, the
FRC gave way to the FCC.
The sinking of the Titanic led to
the Radio Act of 1912.