GENEVA – “In a world changing quickly, we must make the most of radio’s ability to connect people and societies, to share knowledge and information and to strengthen understanding. This World Radio Day is a moment to recognize the marvel of radio and to harness its power for the benefit of all,” says United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) director general, Irina Bokova, in celebration today of the first World Radio Day.
UNESCO chose February 13 to celebrate radio broadcast, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radios, and to highlight that the future of communications is increasingly wireless. It was on this day, 66 years ago in 1946 that UN Radio was born.
Radio remains the “medium to reach the widest audience and is currently taking up new technological forms and devices,” says UNESCO.
With its mandate to ‘Connect the World,’ the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is committed to ensuring radio continues to be an immensely powerful tool for delivering social and economic benefits, especially for the world’s rural and most remote communities.
The ITU World Radiocommunication Conference, currently in session, is drawing up the framework to ensure high quality radiocommunication services for maritime and aeronautical transport and other advanced technologies such as satellite navigation and mobile broadband as well as for scientific purposes related to the environment, meteorology and climatology, disaster prediction, mitigation and relief. The conference is engaged in reviewing and revising the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum that is in demand for the entire gamut of wireless services and applications required to meet global communication requirements.
Some important dates for radio around the world:
February 22, 1857: Birthday of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, a German physicist who clarified and expanded the electromagnetic theory of light that had been put forth by Maxwell. He was the first to satisfactorily demonstrate the existence of electromagnetic waves by building an apparatus to produce and detect radio waves. His achievements triggered the invention of the wireless telegraph and radio.
November 30, 1858: Birthday of Jagdish Chandra Bose, a pioneer of wireless broadcasting. Indian physicist, biologist, and early writer of science fiction, he pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent.
October 6, 1866: Birthday of Reginald Fessenden, inventor of audio broadcasting and radio pioneer.
April 25, 1874: Marconi’s date of birth.
May 7, 1895: Russian inventor Alexander Popov’s first demonstration of his radio receiver to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society. The date is celebrated in the Russian Federation and Bulgaria as "Radio Day".
March 28, 1896: Anniversary of Marconi's first audio transmission. (Marconi is known for his development of the telegraph and we have found no evidence of a first in audio transmissions).
June 2, 1896: Marconi patented a radio device.
July 27, 1896: Marconi's first public wireless transmission of Morse code.
February 10, 1898: Bertold Brecht’s date of birth. German poet, playwright, stage director, and author proposed that radio could be interactive if transformed from “a means of distribution into a communication tool”.
December 24, 1906: Reginald Fessenden made the first radio broadcast, transmitting voice, live music and recorded music.
April 15, 1912: Sinking of the Titanic. The date emphasizes the role of radio (telegraphy) in saving the lives of many passengers.
August 13, 1912: The “Act to Regulate Radio Communication” is passed requiring radio stations in the U.S. to be licensed.
1920: The first radio broadcasts in Sub-Saharan Africa were made in the early 1920s.
August 27, 1920: Transmission of Wagner’s Parsifal by “Los Locos de la Azotea”, Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Recognized as Argentina's first public broadcast 27 August is the official Day of Radio broadcasting in Argentina.
October 18, 1922: the privately owned BBC was the world's first national broadcasting organization and was founded as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd.
December 18, 1923: the first experimental radio broadcast in South Africa took place in Johannesburg.
August, 1924: Edward S. Rogers invents the world's first alternating current (A/C) tube which allows radios to operate from regular household electricity rather than batteries, eliminating the need for recharging, and allowing a clearer sound from the radio.
August, 1925: Edward S. Rogers launches 'Rogers Batteryless Radios' at the CNE. These are the first all-electric radios in the world and are powered by Rogers A/C Tubes.
1927: Transmission by Radio started in Kenya in 1927 with advent of the East African Broadcasting Corporation (EABC) which relayed BBC news to the colonies. English Radio Broadcasting begun in 1928. The Broadcasts targeted white settlers who monitored news from their home and other parts of the world.
October 30, 1938: The day Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds radio play was first broadcast in the USA.
February 13, 1946: Anniversary of the creation of United Nations Radio.
August 28, 1963: Martin Luther King’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial that marked the defining moment for the American civil rights movement.
March 24, 1980: Anniversary of the murder of Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Arnulfo Romero. He was a great communicator and demonstrated radio's potential to promote and defend human rights.
