Radio Day
Encyclopedia
Radio Day Communications Workers' Day (as it is officially known in Russia
) or Radio and Television Day (Ден на радиото и телевизията, as it is known in Bulgaria
) is a commemoration of the development of radio
in Russia. It takes place on May 7, the day in 1895 on which Alexander Popov
successfully demonstrated his invention.
as a lightning
detector.
Popov has generally been recognized in Eastern Europe as an "inventor of radio
", in contrast to the West's recognition of Tesla
and, historically, Marconi
. Popov's work on the emission and reception of signals by means of electromagnetic oscillations built upon Tesla's accomplishments demonstrated in 1893. Marconi received a patent for radio in 1896, but his apparatus was based on various earlier techniques of other researchers (primarily Tesla) and resembled instruments demonstrated by others (including Popov).
Radio Day was first observed in the Soviet Union
in 1945, on the 50th anniversary of Popov's experiment, and some four decades after his death.
Radio Day is officially marked in Russia and Bulgaria.
"
Following a request from the Academia Española de la Radio, on 20 September 2010 Spain proposed that the UNESCO Executive Board include an agenda item on the proclamation of a World Radio Day.
The Executive's decision is as follows:
Recommends to the [UNESCO] General Conference that it proclaim a World Radio Day and that this Day be celebrated on 13 February, the day the United Nations established the concept of United Nations Radio;
Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, professional associations and broadcasting unions, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to duly celebrate the World Radio Day, in the way that each considers most adequate;
Requests the Director-General, subject to the final resolution of the General Conference, to bring this resolution to the attention of the Secretary-General of the United Nations so that World Radio Day may be endorsed by the General Assembly.
Read UNESCO's full World Radio Day proclamation here(PDF).
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) or Radio and Television Day (Ден на радиото и телевизията, as it is known in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
) is a commemoration of the development of radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
in Russia. It takes place on May 7, the day in 1895 on which Alexander Popov
Alexander Stepanovich Popov
Alexander Stepanovich Popov was a Russian physicist who was the first person to demonstrate the practical application of electromagnetic waves....
successfully demonstrated his invention.
1895 demonstration and commemoration
In 1895, Popov gave the first public demonstration of radio as a tool before the Russian Physical and Chemical Society in St. Petersburg, using Sir Oliver Lodge's cohererCoherer
The coherer was a primitive form of radio signal detector used in the first radio receivers during the wireless telegraphy era at the beginning of the twentieth century. Invented around 1890 by French scientist Édouard Branly, it consisted of a tube or capsule containing two electrodes spaced a...
as a lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
detector.
Popov has generally been recognized in Eastern Europe as an "inventor of radio
Invention Of Radio
Within the history of radio, several people were involved in the invention of radio and there were many key inventions in what became the modern systems of wireless. Radio development began as "wireless telegraphy"...
", in contrast to the West's recognition of Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
and, historically, Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
. Popov's work on the emission and reception of signals by means of electromagnetic oscillations built upon Tesla's accomplishments demonstrated in 1893. Marconi received a patent for radio in 1896, but his apparatus was based on various earlier techniques of other researchers (primarily Tesla) and resembled instruments demonstrated by others (including Popov).
Radio Day was first observed in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1945, on the 50th anniversary of Popov's experiment, and some four decades after his death.
Radio Day is officially marked in Russia and Bulgaria.
Radio Day in Malaysia
In 2009, an association for commercial radio stations in Malaysia, Commercial Radio Malaysia (CRM) chose to launch Malaysia Radio Day on September 9 to mark the once-in-a-lifetime date in the history of commercial radio.World Radio Day
September 29th, 2011, UNESCO's Executive Board approved item 13 of its provisional agenda "Proclamation of a World Radio DayWorld Radio Day
UNESCO's 36th General Conference adopted on November 3,2011 the proclamation of the 13th of February as the World Radio Day, as proposed by Spain.Background:...
"
Following a request from the Academia Española de la Radio, on 20 September 2010 Spain proposed that the UNESCO Executive Board include an agenda item on the proclamation of a World Radio Day.
The Executive's decision is as follows:
Recommends to the [UNESCO] General Conference that it proclaim a World Radio Day and that this Day be celebrated on 13 February, the day the United Nations established the concept of United Nations Radio;
Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, professional associations and broadcasting unions, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to duly celebrate the World Radio Day, in the way that each considers most adequate;
Requests the Director-General, subject to the final resolution of the General Conference, to bring this resolution to the attention of the Secretary-General of the United Nations so that World Radio Day may be endorsed by the General Assembly.
Read UNESCO's full World Radio Day proclamation here(PDF).