1940 in radio
Encyclopedia
The year 1940 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.
Events
- 5 January: FMFM broadcastingFM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio is demonstrated for the FCCFederal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
for the first time. - 26 May: Fireside chatFireside chatsThe fireside chats were a series of thirty evening radio addresses given by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944.-Origin of radio address:...
: On National Defense - 18 June: General Charles de GaulleCharles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, de facto leader of the Free French ForcesFree French ForcesThe Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, uses the airwaves of the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to make his 18th of June Appeal to the French people for resistance to the Nazi GermanNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupation of FranceGerman occupation of France in World War IIThe Military Administration in France was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II. It remained in existence from May 1940 to December 1944. As a result of the defeat of France and its Allies in the Battle of France, the French cabinet sought a cessation...
. - 15 October: Seven staff are killed when an attempt to eject a delayed-action German bomb from Broadcasting HouseBroadcasting HouseBroadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
fails. - 29 December: Fireside chatFireside chatsThe fireside chats were a series of thirty evening radio addresses given by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944.-Origin of radio address:...
: On National SecurityArsenal of Democracy"The Arsenal of Democracy" was a propaganda slogan coined by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a radio broadcast delivered on December 29, 1940. Roosevelt promised to help the United Kingdom fight Nazi Germany by giving them military supplies while the United States stayed out of the actual...
Debuts
- 28 January: Beat the BandBeat the BandBeat the Band was a musical quiz show heard on NBC radio from 1940 to 1944 in two distinctly different series. The program popularized the show business catch phrase, "Give me a little traveling music," often uttered on TV a decade later by Jackie Gleason....
debuts on NBC Red. - 5 February: Amanda of Honeymoon HillAmanda of Honeymoon HillAmanda of Honeymoon Hill was a 15-minute daily radio soap opera produced by Frank and Anne Hummert. Broadway actress Joy Hathaway had the title role, sometimes described as "the beauty of flaming red hair." The series was broadcast from February 5, 1940 until April 26, 1946, initially on the Blue...
debuts on NBC Red. - 11 February: The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin StreetThe Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin StreetThe Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street was a musical variety radio program which began on the Blue Network in 1940. The magazine Radio Life described it as "one of radio's strangest offsprings... a wacky, strictly hep tongue-in-cheek burlesque of opera and symphony."It was a weekly...
debuts on NBC Blue. - 12 February: The Adventures of SupermanThe Adventures of Superman (radio)The Adventures of Superman was a long running radio serial that originally aired from 1940 to 1951, adapted from the DC Comics character. ....
(1940–1951) debuts on WORWOR (AM)WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
. - 18 March: Light of the World debuts on NBC Red.
- 23 March: Truth or ConsequencesTruth or ConsequencesTruth or Consequences is an American quiz show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards and later on television by Edwards , Jack Bailey , Bob Barker , Bob Hilton and Larry Anderson . The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication...
debuts on CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. - 29 April: The Bell Telephone HourThe Bell Telephone HourThe Bell Telephone Hour is a long-run concert series which began April 29, 1940 on NBC Radio and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone, it showcased the best in classical and Broadway music, reaching eight to nine million listeners each week. It continued on television...
debuts on NBC Red.
Births
- 7 May: Legendary Radio personality Jim ConnorsJim ConnorsJim "JC" Connors was a popular radio personality of the 1960s through 1980s in the United States.-Highlights:...
- 5 June: David BrudnoyDavid BrudnoyDavid Brudnoy was an American talk radio host in Boston from 1976 to 2004. His radio talk show aired on WBZ radio. He was known for espousing his libertarian views on a wide range of political issues, in a manner that was courteous. Thanks to WBZ's wide signal reach, he gained a following from...
(d. 20042004 in radioThe year 2004 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.-Events:*30 October - In the UK a 163-metre-high radio mast at Peterborough collapses in a fire.-Debuts:...
), popular talk radioTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host in Boston, Massachusetts from 19761976 in radioThe year 1976 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*September - Fairchild Industries sells WYOO-FM and AM in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
to 20042004 in radioThe year 2004 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.-Events:*30 October - In the UK a 163-metre-high radio mast at Peterborough collapses in a fire.-Debuts:...
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