1922 in radio
Encyclopedia
The year 1922 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.
Events
- 8 February: President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Warren G. HardingWarren G. HardingWarren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
introduces the first radio in the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. - 19 February: Ed WynnEd WynnEd Wynn was a popular American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor....
becomes the first big vaudevilleVaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
star to join radio. The first broadcast is Wynn's The Perfect Fool and the station is WJZWABC (AM)WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. This is also the first time in the world that a radio show is broadcast before a studio audience. - 27 February: The first National Radio Conference, led by Herbert HooverHerbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, is held in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- February: The world's first symphony concert broadcast is made by the Detroit Symphony OrchestraDetroit Symphony OrchestraThe Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...
on station WWJWWJ (AM)WWJ is Detroit, Michigan's only 24-hour all-news radio station. Broadcasting at 950 kHz, the station is owned and operated by CBS Corporation subsidiary CBS Radio. The station first went on the air on August 20, 1920 with the call sign 8MK...
. - 10 March: In the United States, Variety magazineVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
prints as its front-page headline "Radio Sweeping Country - 1,000,000 Sets in Use". - 11 May: The first radio sports commentary in Great Britain is made on Station 2LO2LO2LO was the second radio station to regularly broadcast in the United Kingdom . It began broadcasting on 11 May 1922, for one hour a day from the seventh floor of Marconi House in London's Strand...
. Arthur BurrowsArthur BurrowsArthur Burrows was one of the first employees of the British Broadcasting Company and was the first to hold the position of Director of Programmes. Burrows was previously a journalist and also a keen wireless enthusiast...
describes a fightBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
between Ted "Kid" Lewis and Georges CarpentierGeorges CarpentierGeorges Carpentier was a French boxer. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908-26. Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood and his fighting weight ranged from...
at OlympiaOlympia, LondonOlympia is an exhibition centre and conference centre in West Kensington, on the boundary between The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, London, W14 8UX, England. It opened in the 19th century and was originally known as the National Agricultural Hall.Opened in 1886,...
. No further sports broadcasts are made in Britain until 1927 due to pressure from newspapers. - 14 June: Warren G. HardingWarren G. HardingWarren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
becomes the first United States president heard live on radio, when he dedicates the Francis Scott KeyFrancis Scott KeyFrancis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet, from Georgetown, who wrote the lyrics to the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".-Life:...
Memorial over the Baltimore radio station WEAR. - 21 July: A limited commercial license is issued for operating radio station WIAE, in Vinton, IowaVinton, Iowa-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,257 in the city, with a population density of . There were 2,299 housing units, of which 2,187 were occupied....
, to station manager Marie Zimmerman, making WIAE the first radio station owned and operated by a woman. - 7 September: On the occasion of the centennial celebrations of Brazilian independence, President Epitácio Pessoa of BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
makes the country's first radio broadcast. - 6 November: The privately owned French radio station RadiolaRadiola (radio station)Radiola was a privately owned French radio station which broadcast under that name from 6 November 1922 until 28 March 1924, to promote the Radiola radio receivers produced by the SFR. It made its first test transmissions on 26 June 1922 and broadcast its first news bulletin on 6 January 1923...
begins regular transmissions. - 14 November: The British Broadcasting CompanyBritish Broadcasting CompanyThe British Broadcasting Company Ltd was a British commercial company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom and licensed by the British General Post Office...
transmits its first two news bulletins, each read twice ("once quickly and once slowly" – to determine listener reaction). - 4 December: The first broadcasting "music ensemble" is formed in Pittsburgh by that city's KDKA-AM, it will be known as the KDKA Orchestra.
Debuts
- 9 January: KQVKQVKQV is a radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station, which is the only broadcast station owned by Calvary, Inc., broadcasts at 1410 kHz, with 5000 watts of power day and night. KQV's call letters reportedly stand for King of the Quaker Valley...
is licensed and on the air in Pittsburgh, the city becomes the first with both a commercial station (KDKA in 1920) and two commercial radio stations. - 20 February: WGY is launched by General ElectricGeneral ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
at Schenectady, New YorkSchenectady, New YorkSchenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, USA, after having established several experimental stations there since 1912. - 2 March: WEAF (later WNBC (AM)WNBC (AM)WNBC was a radio station that operated in New York City from 1922 to 1988. For most of its history, it was the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network...
) is launched by the American Telephone & TelegraphAmerican Telephone & TelegraphAT&T Corp., originally American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American telecommunications company that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. AT&T is the oldest telecommunications company...
company in New York City, New York. - 27 April: WOE is launched by the Buckeye Radio Service Co. in Akron, OhioAkron, OhioAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. - 11 May: KGU in Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
goes on the air as HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
's first radio station. - 5 June: WEAN (later WPRV) goes on the air in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
. - 6 September: WJAR (later WHJJWHJJWHJJ is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island. The station was previously assigned the call letters WJAR, adopting its current call letters in 1980 when previous owner Outlet Communications sold the station.-History:...
) begins broadcasting in Providence. - 3 December: WKAQ (AM)WKAQ (AM)WKAQ is a radio station in San Juan, Puerto Rico that broadcasts on 580 kHz with a Spanish language talk radio format. The station is currently owned by Univision Radio. Its programming is repeated on WUKQ, which broadcasts on 1420 kHz in Ponce, and WYEL which broadcasts on 600 kHz in Mayagüez...
goes on the air as Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
's first radio station.
Births
- 29 May - Mae BrussellMae BrussellMae Brussell was a conspiracy theorist and radio personality.Born in Beverly Hills, California, Mae was the daughter of the prominent Wilshire Boulevard Temple Rabbi Edgar Magnin and great-granddaughter of Isaac Magnin, founder of the I...
, American radio personality and conspiracy theorist (d. 19881988 in radioThe year 1988 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*August 13 — Los Angeles radio personality Shadoe Stevens takes over as host of "American Top 40." He replaces Casey Kasem, who had hosted since the show's debut in 1970...
) - 17 July Sid CollinsSid CollinsSid Collins was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952-1976...
, American motor-racing broadcaster(d. 19771977 in radioIn the year 1977, significant events in radio broadcasting included the President of the United States participating in a call-in radio program.-Events:*KSTP-FM in St...
)