Date	Events
1672	Static electricity generator developed.
	Static Electricity
	Static electricity was one of the first forms of electricity to be documented. As far back as 600 B.C., the Greeks noted that naturally occurring amber had the power to attract other objects after it was rubbed. Theophrastus noted, in the 2nd century A.D., that other materials also had this strange power.
	William Gilbert, who coined the word "electric," from the Greek, Elekton, for amber, studied the forces that some substances seemed to take on after being rubbed. His studies were conducted in the 1600s.
	The first machine for producing these charges was described by the German scientist Otto von Guericke in 1672. His device was made of a ball of sulfur that could be rotated on an axle by turning a crank. A charge could be generated when the user's hand was brought near the ball.
1746	Leyden Jar invented in the Netherlands.
	Leyden Jar
	The Leyden Jar was the first device developed for storing electricity. A form of condenser or capacitor, it consisted of a glass jar or bottle that was coated on the inside and outside with separate pieces of tin foil.
	When a charge from a static electricity generator was brought to one of the pieces of foil, the charge would transfer to the foil and remain there until the foils were brought together at which time there would be a spark.
1749	Franklin (America) writes that a rod could drag electricity from the sky.
	Franklin's Spark
	Ben Franklin became very interested in the world of static electricity after seeing a demonstration of it in 1746. Contrary to the beliefs of his day, he proposed the idea that electricity flows from areas of higher charge to those of a lesser charge. He said that when the electricity does flow through air, it produces a spark.
	He believed that the sparks that occur during a storm, lightning, and those produced by static electricity were one in the same. In 1749 he wrote,
	"On the top of some high tower or steeple, place a kind of sentry-box big enough to contain a man and an electrical stand. From the middle of the stand let an iron rod rise and pass bending out of the door, and then upright 20 or 30 feet, pointed very sharp at the end. If the electrical stand be kept clean and dry, a man standing on it when such clouds are passing low, might be electrified and afford sparks, the rod drawing fire to him from a cloud."
1774	Volta (Italy) develops his first battery.
10/14/1788	Born: Sir Edward Sabine, Dublin, English astronomer (magnetic fields)
1799	Hans Christian Oersted (Denmark) shows that electricity and magnetism are related.
1820	Ampere (France) develops his theory about electricity and expresses it mathematically.
1824	Henry develops the electromagnet.
1826	Henry strengthens the electromagnet and lifts over 2,300 pounds.
1827	George Ohm (Germany) develops his law showing the relationship between resistance, amperage, and voltage.
1830	Henry's electromagnet rings a bell by moving an iron rod.
1831	Faraday discovers mutual inductance.
6/1/1831	Sir James C. Ross discovers the north magnetic pole
6/13/1831	Born: James Clerk Maxwell, physicist, formulator of electromagnetic theory
3/3/1843	Congress appropriates $30,000 "to test the practicability of establishing a system of electro-magnetic telegraphs" by the US
1847	Born: Thomas Edison is born.
6/12/1851	Born: Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge, England, early radio pioneer
2/22/1857	Born: Heinrich R. Hertz, physicist; 1st to broadcast & receive radio waves
11/18/1863	Born: Billy Sunday, radio evangelist
1864	James Clerk Maxwell presents paper showing that electromagnetic radiation can move at the speed of light.
1866	Mahlon Loomis has the idea that the sky can be used as a conductor in telegraphy, building on the current use of the earth as a ground.
1866	Loomis sets up two kites, one on Bear Mountain and the other on Furnace Mountain in Virginia. He successfully transmitted a signal from one to the other.
7/20/1872	Mahlon Loomis receives patent for wireless ... the radio is born
8/26/1873	Born: Lee De Forest, Iowa, inventor of the Audion vacuum (radio) tube
4/25/1874	Born: Guglielmo Marconi, Bologna, Italy, inventor of radio (Nobel 1909)
6/14/1874	Born: Major [Edward] Bowes, SF, radio amateur hour host
1877	Edison develops the carbon microphone.
1878	David E. Hughes (England) observes the coherer principle in the carbon granules of the microphone.
1878	Edison invents the phonograph.
1879	Edison invents the light bulb.
8/7/1886	Born: Louis Hazeltine, inventor of the neutrodyne circuit - made commercial radio possible
1887	~Heinrich Hertz (Germany) transmits a spark using a tuned antenna. He also proved Maxwell's theory and the existence of radio waves.
1890	Edouard Branly (France) invents the Branly Detector, an improved coherer.
2/2/1890	Born: Charles J. Correll, Peoria, Ill., radio actor (Amos & Andy - Andy)
10/9/1890	Born: Aimee Semple McPherson, Pentecostal radio preacher
12/18/1890	Born: Edwin H. Armstrong, NYC, radio pioneer, inventor of FM
2/27/1891	Born: David Sarnoff, RCA board chairman
6/4/1891	Born: Erno Rapee, Budapest, conductor (NBC Orchestra)
12/29/1891	Edison patents "transmission of signals electrically" (radio)
1892	Elihu Thomson (USA) experiments with the electric arc.
1894	Oliver Lodge (England) improves the Branly detector by adding a vibrator.
1894	Marconi makes a bell ring using radio waves.
5/31/1894	Born: Fred Allen, Mass., vaudeville, radio comedian
1896	Alexander Popov (Russia) adds an antenna and a ground to the Branly coherer.
1896	Marconi moves to England.
11/16/1896	Born: Jim Jordan, Ill., radio actor (Fibber McGee)
1897	Marconi receives a British patent (No. 12039) for "improvements in transmitting electrical impulses and signals and an apparatus therefore.
1897	Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, Ltd. founded. Later named the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company.
4/7/1897	Born: Walter Winchell, radio newscaster, columnist (Untouchables narrator)
4/16/1898	Born: Marian Jordan, Peoria, Ill., radio comedienne (Fibber McGee & Molly)
1899	Wireless transmission across the English Channel demonstrated.
1/15/1899	Born: Goodman Ace, radio & TV writer, actor, columnist, humorist
1900	William Duddell (United Kingdom) discovers that an electric arc can produce a high frequency note when connected to a circuit with coils and condensers that are tuned to the audio frequencies.
1900	Reginald A. Fessenden (USA) transmits voice on a spark transmitter. It was barely recognizable since the waves were not continuous.
2/20/1900	Graham Spry, St. Thomas, Ont., Canadian radio pioneer
1901	Fessenden experiments with the hot-wire barretter. The barretter, or "electrolytic detector," was used to detect continuous waves. He also discovered that treating it with nitric acid turned it into an rectifier."
1901	Marconi and Deforrest compete in the reporting of the America's Cup Yacht race by radio. They end up overriding each other's signals.
6/4/1901	Born: Carlton E. Morse, La., creator of radio show "One Man's Family"
9/28/1901	Born: William S. Paley, founder, chairman of CBS
12/11/1901	Marconi sends 1st transatlantic radio signal (...), Cornwall to Nfld.
1902	Greenleaf Pickard discovers the crystal detector using silicon. He receives a patent.
1902	Kennelly and Heaviside (US) theorize about the ionosphere.
1/1/1902	Nathan Stubblefield makes 1st public demonstration of radio, Penn.
2/9/1902	Born: Chester Lauck, Arkansas, radio actor (Lum & Abner - Lum Edwards)
1903	Fessenden receives a patent for his detector.
1903	Telefunken formed in Germany by K.H. Slaby, G.W.A. von Arco, K.F. Braun, Alexander Meissner, and the Siemens and Halske companies.
1/19/1903	1st regular transatlantic radio broadcast between US & England
8/31/1903	Born: Arthur Godfrey, radio, TV host (Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts)
1/7/1904	Marconi Co. establishes "CQD" as 1st international radio distress signal
11/14/1904	Ambrose Fleming (UK), a consultant to Marconi, receives a patent for the Fleming Valve, the first radio vacuum tube. Was used as a detector to replace the coherer and the magnetic detectors.
6/29/1905	Born: Ed Gardner, Long Island, NY, radio actor (Duffy's Tavern - Archie)
1906	Telefunken transmits voice 25 miles with a spark transmitter.
1906	Fessenden wins a lawsuit against DeForrest over the responder, an electrolytic detector.
1/13/1906	1st radio set advertised (Telimco for $7.50 in "Scientific American"), claimed to receive signals up to ONE MILE
1/19/1906	Born: Lanny Ross, Seattle, radio singer (Show Boat, The Swift Show)
3/29/1906	Born: E. Power Biggs, Westcliff-on-Sea, England, organist (CBS)
5/30/1906	Born: Norris Goff, Arkansas, radio actor (Lum & Abner - Abner Peabody)
6/18/1906	Born: Kay Kyser, radio & film personality (3 Little Fishes)
10/20/1906	Dr. Lee DeForest demonstrates his 3-element radio tube
11/22/1906	International Radio Telegraphic Convention adopts "SOS" as new international radio distress signal
12/24/1906	Reginald A. Fessenden becomes 1st to broadcast music over radio, Mass.
1/15/1907	DeForrest awarded a patent for the three element, grid vacuum tube, the Triode. It improved the audio, allowed amplification and when ocillated becomes a transmitter. He sells it to AT&T.
10/17/1907	Transatlantic radio telegraph service inaugurated
12/16/1907	Eugenia Farrar becomes 1st singer broadcast over radio, Brooklyn
1908	DeForrest transmits voice and music over 500 miles from the Eiffel Tower.
1908	Amateur interest in radio is on the rise. Many magazine appear such as Modern Electronics and Electrician and Mechanic.
1908	Valdemar Poulsen (Denmark) uses an electric arc in a gaseous atmosphere and magnetic field to create 100 kilocycle waves that are transmitted 100 miles.
3/20/1908	Born: Frank Stanton, broadcast executive (CBS)
10/20/1908	Born: Arlene Francis, Boston, radio-TV personality (What's My Line)
1909	First amateur radio club formed. (New York City)
1909	Cyril Elwell (USA) purchases the rights to Poulson's device and forms the Federal Telegraph Company. Receives many Navy contracts. Eventually the Poulson arc and the Alexander Alternator become the dominant technologies.
1/16/1909	David, Mawson & Mackay reach south magnetic pole
1/23/1909	1st radio rescue at sea
2/23/1910	1st radio contest held, Philadelphia
8/27/1910	1st radio message from an airplane, Sheepshead Bay, NY
1911	Alexander perfects the magnetic amplifier, a type of transformer.
12/10/1911	Born: Chet Huntley, NBC TV newscaster (Huntley-Brinkley Report)
8/9/1912	The Radio Act becomes law. Attempts to limit the interference between broadcasters.
9/30/1912	Born: Kenny Baker, radio singer, actor (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back)
3/15/1915	Born: David Schoenbrun, CBS news bureau head (Washington, Paris)
4/4/1915	1st radio telephone communication (one way), Long Island to Delaware
9/29/1915	1st transcontinental radio telephone demonstration, NYC-SF
10/21/1915	1st transatlantic radiotelephone message, Arlington, Va. to Paris
11/26/1915	Born: Earl Wild, Pittsburgh, pianist (NBC Symphony)
7/2/1916	Born: Barry Gray, radio personality (started call-in radio)
4/6/1917	During World War I, the Federal government (for the Navy) takes control over all radio stations.
3/7/1917	1st jazz recording released (The Dixie Jazz Band One-Step)
6/4/1917	Born: Charles Collingwood, CBS news commentator
7/14/1917	Born: Douglas Edwards, Okla., CBS newscaster, TV's 1st network news anchor
4/27/1918	Born: John Scali, newspaperman, correspondent (ABC)
5/9/1918	Born: Mike Wallace, host of CBS's "60 Minutes"
5/28/1918	Born: Johnny Wayne, Toronto, radio & TV comedian (Wayne & Shuster)
9/4/1918	Born: Paul Harvey, radio news commentator (The Rest of the Story)