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First radio broadcast for the general public — Reginald Fessenden

1906 AD · Transmission: Global
TechnologyInventionNorth American

On 24 December 1906, Reginald Aubrey Fessenden transmits from Brant Rock, Massachusetts, the first entertainment and music radio broadcast aimed at the general public, using the high-frequency alternator designed by Ernst Alexanderson that he himself had commissioned in 1904. The broadcast, using amplitude-modulated (AM) continuous waves, is a radical departure from the dots-and-dashes (Morse code) transmission prevalent until then, and marks the birth of modern radio broadcasting.

InstitutionNational Electric Signaling Company
Historical regionBrant Rock, Massachusetts, USA
Primary sourceFessenden, R.A. — Transmission of 24 December 1906, Brant Rock, Massachusetts
Secondary sourceIEEE Engineering and Technology History Wiki — "Milestones: First Wireless Radio Broadcast by Reginald A. Fessenden, 1906"
Original languageEnglish
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