A Chronology of AM Radio Broadcasting 1900-1960
The following chronology emphasizes early broadcasting events, and attempts to list the authorization date or start date for every AM broadcast station before 1931. If known, the sign-on date is shown with "on air"; however, in most cases the date the station was licensed or authorized is shown. Improvements to this list are welcome. Paragraphs ending in FFF are excerpts from the standard reference book Famous First Facts. Contributors to this page include Barry Mishkind, Donna L. Halper, Scott Fybush, Thomas White, Bruce Bjorkman, Mark Roberts, Rick Plummer, Jim Hilliker, Terry Harvey, Frank Absher, Myke Weiskopf, Carl Denbow, Robert Rolf, Steve Pietras, and Bob Lucier. Please send comments or corrections to Jeff Miller.
Last revision: Jan. 20, 2022
1897. Electrical engineering professor William Gladson of the University of Arkansas is said to have constructed an experimental wireless transmitter. [In 1900 a wireless telegraph station was installed at the University of Arkansas. In 1912 the school was granted a special land station with the call sign 5YM. A commercial broadcast license was obtained on Dec. 4, 1923, and in January 1924 5YM became KFMQ.]
Fall 1898. Notre Dame Professor Jerome Green sends messages a distance of about a mile, from Notre Dame to St. Mary’s, by wireless telegraphy. According to Notre Dame Professor Barry Keating, this is the first wireless transmission of any significant distance in North America. A detailed review of his work appeared in the July 1899 issue of American Electrician.
Oct. 1899. Marconi’s first trip to the U. S., to broadcast results of the America’s Cup race
1900. University of Wisconsin professors and students begin experimenting with radio transmission using spark transmitters in 1900. By 1915 daily weather reports for farmers; June 1915 experimental license granted using 9XM on 475 and 750 m 5000 watt spark station; 9XM begins daily weather reports in Morse code in 1917; voice transmission in 1919 or 1920. According to Thomas White, "9XM was first licensed as an experimental station around July, 1915, then was shut down with everyone else on April 7, 1917. After the war, 9XM first reappears on the station lists in the May, 1920 Radio Service Bulletin." According to Return With Us Now, the journal of the Radio Historical Association of Colorado, 9XM was authorized to continue its telephone exchange with the U. S. Navy stations on the Great Lakes during the war. [Bill Harris].
Dec. 23, 1900. The Canadian-American physicist Professor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden transmits speech using a spark-gap transmitter. He spoke the words, “One, two, three, four, is it snowing where you are Mr. Thiessen? If it is, would you telegraph back to me?” Mr. Thiessen, one mile way, heard the transmission. His voice was the first ever to be transmitted by radio waves and heard by another person.
Dec. 12, 1901. Marconi believes he hears letter “S” transmitted by Morse Code from Poldhu to Signal Hill, St. Johns NF. [The feat was considered the first transatlantic radio transmission, but later researchers have concluded that his reception was not possible and that Marconi may have instead heard static caused by lightning.]
March 1902. Nathan B. Stubblefield of Murray, Ky., demonstrates wireless telephony by transmission from shore to a steamboat on the Potomac river near Washington, D. C. [He first demonstrated his invention in the Murray area in 1892.]
Nov. 25, 1905. An advertisement for the Telimco Wireless Telegraph Outfit appears in Scientific American. This may be the first advertisement for a radio. Details are available at http://earlyradiohistory.us/1905teli.htm.
Dec. 21, 1906. Reginald Aubrey Fessenden conducts a public demonstration of radiotelephony between Brant Rock and Plymouth, Mass. [In a 1932 letter Fessenden said this might not be considered the beginning of broadcasting because it was transmitted to an invited audience, and he stated that a transmission he sent on Christmas Eve in 1906 would be the first broadcast. The Dec. 24, 1906, broadcast, he wrote, was advertised in advance, with U. S. Navy and United States Fruit Company ships notified by telegraph. Fessenden claimed that the broadcast from Brant Rock included a female voice singing a Christmas carol, a violin solo by Fessenden, and a phonograph recording. There is apparently no proof that the Dec. 24 broadcast actually took place.]
July 18, 1907. De Forest makes the first ship-to-shore transmissions by radiotelephone. They were race reports for the Annual Inter-Lakes Yachting Association Regatta held on Lake Erie, sent from a steam yacht to his assistant, Frank E. Butler, on South Bass Island.
Dec. 16, 1907. 1st SINGER TO BROADCAST was Eugenia H. Farrar, whose voice was broadcast by Lee De Forest December 16, 1907, from Brooklyn Navy Yard on the occasion of the departure of Admiral Robley Dunglison Evans ("Fighting Bob Evans") on a cruise with the fleet. (FFF) (De Forest claims to have begun regular broadcasting in 1907 from laboratory in Parker Building in New York.
1908. De Forest set up transmitter at foot of the Eiffel Tower and gave a demonstration program of gramophone records
1908. Berlin Convention assigns the initial letters N, W, and some K to the United States
1908. A. Frederick Collins broadcasts voice and music using an arc transmitter in Newark.
1909. Harriet Blatch, De Forest’s mother-in-law, speaks in favor of women’s suffrage; De Forest claims the first propaganda broadcast
Jan. 31, 1909. The word broadcast appears in the Boston Globe in an article “Experiment with Wireless,” which refers to how information about a ship that was sinking was “sent broadcast” by wireless telegraphers. [On Jan. 9, 1910, the New York Times refers to how Lee DeForest has a long distance transmitter that allows music from the Metropolitan Opera Company to be “sent out broadcast.” These citations were provided by Donna Halper.]
Mar. 18, 1909. First ham transmission, as Einar Dessau of Denmark talks to a government radio post about 6 mi away
Apr. 1909. Charles Herrold transmits voice from San Jose. [In 1910 he used the call FN; in 1912 he maintained a broadcast schedule with some regularity; by 1913 he used the call SJN; in 1916 he was assigned the calls 6XE (portable) and 6XF (fixed); in 1921 the call was changed to KQW and in 1949 to KCBS.]
Jan. 12-13, 1910. De Forest arranges the world’s first radio broadcast to public, directly from Metropolitan Opera to several listeners in New York. He used two microphones and a 500-w transmitter. According to the 1989 edition of the Annals of the Metropolitan Opera, "In a pioneering effort, two decades before radio became an important aspect of the company’s activities, parts of (Puccini’s) Tosca (January 12, 1910) and complete performances of (Mascagni’s) Cavalleria Rusticana and (Leoncavallo’s) I Pagliacci (January 13, 1910) were broadcast. Few could hear the transmission as the sound quality was poor." The cast of Puccini’s Tosca on January 12 featured Olive Fremstad as Floria Tosca, Pasquale Amato as Baron Scarpia and Riccardo Martin as Cavaradossi, the tenor lead.
In his 1950 autobiography Father of Radio, De Forest wrote:
For my debut in broadcasting of opera, [Metropolitan Opera House assistant director Andreas] Dippell suggested the double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci. The Acousticon microphone was located in the footlights, but for the opening aria, 'La Siciliana,' in Cavalleria, which was sung behind the curtain, a duplicate microphone was located on a small table before which Ricardo Martin stood when he sang that aria. Then before the curtains were withdrawn for the opening scene, this microphone and the wires and table were swiftly removed from sight. For Caruso, as Canio in Pagliacci, the microphone was installed in the footlights.According to The Empire of the Air (1932), "Mr. Emil J. Simon, a radio engineer of Cleveland, heard the program while aboard a Royal Mail liner at sea and reported that the reception was excellent."
In an interview given to the New York Evening Mail and later quoted in Empire of the Air (1932), de Forest said:
The first broadcasting of music, other than phonograph, occurred in the spring of 1910 on top of the Metropolitan Opera House, where I erected a temporary radio-telephone transmitter connected with two microphones placed among the footlights of the stage. The first opera singer whose voice was thus broadcast was Caruso, singing the role of Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana.De Forest’s recollections as to the precise date and the role of Caruso were flawed. The Annals of the Metropolitan Opera indicates that in the first opera of the double-header presented on Jan. 13, Cavalleria Rusticana, Riccardo Martin sang the role of Turiddu. The second opera, I Pagliacci, featured Enrico Caruso singing the lead tenor role, of Canio. Furthermore, the Jan. 14, 1910, New York Times reported, "The warblings of Caruso and Mme. Destinn in Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci was not clearly audible to the reporters who were summoned to hear it at the headquarters of the inventor.." In July 1925 Radio News reported in Part 10 of "The Life and Work of Lee DeForest," "Through the cooperation of the Acousticon company, DeForest was able to put a couple of microphones on the stage and in the wings. The opera selected for the first bill was actually two operas. It was one of the Met’s. usual double bills. It consisted of Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana. Caruso was appearing in the former and Mme. Mazcarimi in the latter."
Arthur E. Zimmerman, Ph.D., who assisted with this entry, reports that he has checked the entire 1909-1910 season and found that Caruso did not sing in Cavalleria Rusticana at all. He also reports his original source implies, but does not state, that the second opera, which featured Caruso, was not broadcast.
June 24, 1910. U. S. approves an act requiring radio equipment on certain passenger-carrying vessels
1911. First U. S. radio license is issued to George Hill Lewis of Cincinnati
1911. The New Jersey Telephone Herald operates a wired "radio" service in Newark for about 5000 subscribers. The service ended in Dec. 1912.
May 25, 1911. The Commerce Department issues Certificate of Skill to James M. Baskerville, serial number 1
July 1, 1911. The Radio Division of the Department of Commerce is established, to enforce Radio Act of June 24, 1910
1912. U. S. vessels in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are assigned calls beginning with K, and those in the Pacific are assigned calls beginning with W [Thomas White].
1912. Experimental station at the University of Minnesota attempts to air football games using a spark transmitter and regular telegraph signals
1912. 9YV (WTG) Manhattan KS broadcasts weather information in Morse code daily at 9 a.m., believed to be first regular schedule of weather broadcasts in U. S.
Aug. 13, 1912. First experimental license issued by Dept. of Commerce following Int. Radio Convention and Radio Act of 1912, to St. Joseph’s College, Philadelphia (3XJ, 2 kw)
Aug. 13, 1912. 2XI (WGY) lic (?)
Aug. 16, 1912. President Taft signs into law the Radio Act of 1912.
1914. 8CO (8YV, WSAJ) Grove City PA [According to Darren J. Morton, 8YV was licensed on March 1, 1917. The licensing of 8CO in 1914 has not been confirmed.]
Apr. 5, 1914. Inning-by inning scores of an exhibition baseball game between the New York Giants and Memphis Turtles, playing at the Red Elm Bottoms in Memphis, was sent from the Falls Building to the steamboat G. W. Robertson. Information was telephoned from the ball park to the Falls Building, and then sent by Victor H. Laughter’s voice transmitter to the Robertson.
Aug. 26, 1914. Radio Operator, Commercial Extra First Class, license number 1 issued to Elmo Neale Pickerill; qualified by demonstrating a skill of 32 wpm in Continental Morse Code and 35 wpm in American Morse
1915. Weather and crop reports are broadcast from the University of Texas. The Handbook of Texas Online has:
In 1911 J. B. Dickinson, manager of the Texas Fiscal Agency at San Antonio, constructed wireless facilities at both schools to teach electrical engineering students about radio transmissions. As part of his experiments in high-frequency radio, University of Texas physics professor S. Leroy Brown built radio equipment and began broadcasting weather and crop reports from a physics laboratory on the UT campus in 1915. During World War I, using the call letters KUT, the university’s Division of Extension operated Brown’s equipment to broadcast reports from the United States Marketing Bureau and Department of Agriculture. By March 1922 the station had combined with a second campus station (call letters 5XY) and with a 500-watt power rating was one of the best-equipped and most powerful stations in the nation. The usual broadcasts were from 8 to 10 P.M. on three nights a week; programming consisted of music, lectures, and agriculture and marketing reports.Spring, 1916. De Forest regularly maintains a phonograph concert service three times a week, as experimental 2XG New York NY, with the Columbia Phonograph Co. furnishing records in exchange for announcements; an elaborate opening of that service was arranged, at the Hotel Astor, to which press representatives were invited
1916. W. C. Handy on Memphis experimental voice radio station
1916. 2ZK New Rochelle NY broadcasts music regularly
Mar. 18, 1916. Harold Power, founder of AMRAD, broadcasts a phonograph concert using the 1JJ call of the Tufts Wireless Club. The three-hour concerts during March were heard by ships at sea, various amateurs, and a Boston Globe reporter who was quite amazed to hear something other than Morse code. Power began using the call 1XE in 1917. 1XE later became WGI Medford Hillside MA.
June 1916. 9ZP (KGFX) Pierre SD
Aug. 1916. 8XK (8ZZ, KDKA) Pittsburgh PA lic
Aug. 1, 1916. RSB has first record of 8XK (8ZZ, KDKA)
Nov. 7, 1916. De Forest Radio Laboratory experimental station 2XG in High Bridge section of the Bronx broadcasts election reports from the New York American for approximately 6 hrs. Coverage ended about 11 p.m., announcing Charles Evans Hughes had defeated Woodrow Wilson.
1917. Dept. of Commerce suspends all amateur licenses except Westinghouse
July 31, 1918. U. S. government takes over all wireless land stations except for some high-power stations
1919. 5YA (WTAW) College Station TX; 9YA (WHAA, WSUI) Iowa City IA; 9ZAF (KLZ) Denver CO; 9YB (WBAA) Lafayette IN
Sept. 24, 1919. XWA (CFCF) Montreal receives government authorization to send voice transmissions. (The station had received authorization to send code for experimental broadcasts on 3/20/1919. According to Mary Vipond in Listening In: The First Decade of Canadian Broadcasting, voice broadcasts began in the fall of 1919, based on Marconi factory notes.)
Fall, 1919. The wartime ban is lifted and De Forest resumes broadcasting at Highbridge, the Bronx
Oct. 1, 1919. In the Radio Service Bulletin, the Bureau of Standards announces an experimental Government land station located at Washington, DC, featuring the call letters WWV. The station had no assigned wavelength or fixed hours of operation.
Oct. 17, 1919. The Radio Corporation of America is formed, incorporating in Delaware
Nov. 1919. 1XE (WGI) Medford Hillside MA broadcasts voice and music sporadically, once or twice a week. Donna Halper says that according to correspondence she has seen from Harold Power, these broadcasts increased during 1920 to the point that by late summer, they were on a fairly frequent basis.
Nov. 19, 1919. 8ZAE (KQV) Pittsburgh PA lic
Dec. 1919. (or early 1920) De Forest moves transmitter to the World Tower Bldg. on W 38th St. and begins a combined vocal and phonograph service (in 1920 station is shut down because government De Forest had not obtained approval for move, De Forest claims station had its license canceled by the Federal Radio Inspector of that district because "there was no room in the ether for entertainment")
Jan. 1920. Vaughn de Leath sings on De Forest’s station to become "First Lady of radio"
Mar. 1920. 1XE (WGI) begins weekly Sunday afternoon classical music concerts
According to the March 16, 1925, issue of the weekly publication the Boston Chamber of Commerce, "...From records available at WGI, it would appear that the Medford Hillside station was broadcasting regular programs at least one month before KDKA." The statement was written by Lewis Whitcomb, assistant program manager of competing WEEI and formerly radio columnist for the Boston Post [Donna Halper].
April 1, 1920. The Western Radio Electric Company receives a license for a Special Land Station with the call letters 6XD to operate in Los Angeles, California. [In October of 1922, Radio Doings magazine called 6XD "The first broadcasting station in Southern California, one year in advance of any other in the area.” Pacific Radio News in 1921 listed 6XD as broadcasting on 325 meters/920 kilocycles two nights a week. Phonograph records from Victor were played on the air in exchange for plugs for a local music shop. It is likely that experimental radio station 6XD was on the air about 5 months ahead of KNX’s predecessor, 6ADZ. Station 6XD was relicensed as radio station KZC on 360 meters December 9, 1921, and changed calls to KOG in February of 1922. The station went off the air and was deleted March 9, 1923. Information from Jim Hilliker.]
May 20, 1920. First scheduled broadcast in North America, XWA (CFCF) Montreal. A concert by vocalist Dorothy Lutton was broadcast. See also an earlier entry for XWA. Arthur E. Zimmerman, Ph.D., who is researching the history of the radio stations of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of Canada, Limited, believes that CFCF "has a strong claim as the oldest 'real' radio station in the world, the criterion being that it pre-announced a broadcast for May 20, 1920, and it can be verified that the broadcast actually took place."
June 1920. KD-- assigned for all stations starting now (having exhausted KI-- KO-- KU--)
June 4, 1920. Official announcement of experimental broadcasts on WWV: "Experimental concerts are at present being sent out on Friday evening from 8:30 to 11, by the Radio Laboratory of the Bureau of Standards, using a wave length of 500 meters."
Aug. 20, 1920. 8MK (WBL, WWJ) begins formal period of testing
Aug. 31, 1920. 8MK (WBL, WWJ) is formally dedicated and broadcasts election returns
Sept. 6, 1920. FIRST PRIZE FIGHT BROADCAST was the Jack Dempsey-Billy Miske fight in Benton Harbor MI broadcast by (WWJ). Miske was knocked out in the third round of the scheduled ten-round fight. (FFF)
Sept. 10, 1920. 6ADZ (KGC, KNX) Los Angeles CA on air. According to KNX, on Sept. 10, Fred Christian, using 6ADZ, began broadcasting recorded music borrowed from music stores in return for plugs on the air.
Sept. 15, 1920. First broadcast by a dance band, Paul Spech and his orchestra
Oct. 5, 1920. World Series scores aired by 8MK (WBL, WWJ)
Oct. 14, 1920. The first college radio station goes on the air at Union College in Schenectady, according to Famous First Facts, which identifies the station as WRUC. The original call was actually 2XQ, according to Radio World of June 10, 1922. In March 1922 the station was given the call WRL. [Donna Halper] According to Famous First Facts, "It instituted a series of weekly programs on Oct. 15, 1920, consisting of vocal and instrumental phonograph records. The programs were broadcast from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with a three-minute interval. They were initially heard within a 50-mile radius; this increased under favorable weather conditions. A 5 50-watt U-2 transmitter was used.”
Oct. 16, 1920. Westinghouse applies to Dept. of Commerce for a license to begin regular broadcasting service; by telephone a few days later permission granted to use the amateur call 8ZZ in case the formal and written license was not received by Nov. 2
Oct. 27, 1920. KDKA call letters assigned; call is between the ships Montgomery City (KDJZ) and Eastern Sword (KDKB) (but White has call assigned Oct. 22); the KD- for all policy continued until April 1921
Nov. 2, 1920. KDKA broadcasts election results 8 p.m., 330 meters, 100 w, apparently using the call 8ZZ; Leo Rosenberg of Westinghouse’s publicity dept read the returns; Donald Little and John Frazier in charge of technical operation; regular broadcasting then followed nightly 8:30 to 9:30
Nov. 25, 1920. Famous First Facts has:
Nov. 25, 1920 - FIRST FOOTBALL GAME (COLLEGIATE) BROADCAST was presented by (WTAW) of College Station, Tex. The game was played on Thanksgiving Day between Texas University and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas at College Station. At that time the station was operating under an experimental license and had the call letters 5XB. A spark transmitter was used and the transmission was in code. This was the first play-by-play broadcast of a football game.However, the Handbook of Texas Online has:
Nov. 1, 1921. The first licensed station in L.A., KQL, had its first and possibly only broadcast on November 1, 1921..Tiny ad in Los Angeles Times, page 3 on 11-1-21. [Hilliker]
On November 24, 1921, possibly the first broadcast of a football game in the country aired from the Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Texas A&M University) via call letters 5XB, which is now WTAW. The station operated as a ham relay station at 250 watts. Originally, the station was to air the final score of the Texas-Texas A&M Thanksgiving game, but Frank Matejka, W. A. Tolson, and others decided to send a play-by-play account of the game via Morse Code. Student Harry Saunders and assistant coach D. X. Bibleqv designed a set of abbreviations to fit every possible football situation and sent the list to every station that would broadcast the contest. The game aired over the ham relay stations; the Morse Code was decoded and announced to fans over a public-address system.Another source says the first football game broadcast was Nov. 23, 1919, with the score Texas A&M 7, University of TX 0.
Dec. 15, 1920. WWV is reactivated in cooperation with the Bureau of Markets of the Department of Agriculture, who used the station as an experimental radio service for the dissemination of market news (the "Daily Radio Marketgram"). Transmissions used a 2 kW spark transmitter and Morse code, continuing for four months at 5:00 PM (except Sundays and holidays) on 750 kHz (400 meters). The service was subsequently adapted by the Air Mail Radio Service of the Post Office Department, on April 15, 1921.
Dec. 22, 1920. FIRST PRIZE FIGHT BROADCAST FROM THE RINGSIDE was presented from Madison Square Garden. Joe Lynch of New York City defended his bantamweight title against Peter Herman of New Orleans in a 15-round fight. (FFF)
1921. KDKA selects its first regular announcer and program manager, Harold W. Arlin
1921. K1RP (WPAJ, WDRC) broadcasts Yale-Princeton football game (Franklin Malcolm Doolittle broadcasts game from his home; sports editor of New Haven Register relays play-by-play to him over telephone line)
Jan. 2, 1921. FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE BROADCAST was made when the Calvary Episcopal Church at Pittsburgh broadcast its services through KDKA. Rev. Edwin Jan. Van Etten. (FFF)
Jan. 3, 1921. 9XM (WHA) begins daily voice weather forecasts
Jan. 15, 1921. Herbert Hoover speaks on KDKA from the Duquesne Club
Feb. 18, 1921. President-elect Harding is heard on KDKA, first appearance on radio of a person who would become President (Wilson had used radio to direct flight of an airplane over White House during WWI)
Mar. 4, 1921. A newspaper reports that a gramophone record of President Harding’s inaugural address is to be transmitted by radio from the wireless telephone station of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing company at East Pittsburgh.
Mar. 13, 1921. 2XX Ossining NY vaudeville broadcast, Robert F. Gowen
Apr. 1921. 3-letter calls for land station calls reinstated (end of KD-- for all)
Apr. 5, 1921. 9AXJ (KMBC, KMBZ) gives what is claimed to be the first public radio demonstration in the Midwest
Apr. 11, 1921. KDKA’s first full-length sports event, fight between Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee, at Motor Square Garden in Pittsburgh, reported live from ringside by Florent Gibson, a Pittsburgh Post sportswriter
May 19, 1921. The first opera presented in its entirety is broadcast by 9ZAF Denver CO. The opera, Martha, aired from the Denver Auditorium. [Another claim for the first opera on radio is Mozart’s The Impresario on WJZ on March 15, 1922.]
May 20, 1921. 1XE (WGI) is believed to have begun regular daily broadcasting on this date. Broadcast historian Donna Halper reports that Little Folks Magazine bought commercial time on Eunice Randall’s children’s story hour from November 1921 on. These could be considered among the first commercials aired or could be considered barter advertising. However, on April 4, 1922, the station did receive payment for a commercial for an auto dealer.
July 2, 1921. WJY Jersey City NJ one-day license (RCA) for Jack Dempsey-Georges Carpentier fight at Boyle’s 30 Acres, Jersey City. Major J. Andrew White, editor of Wireless Age, delivered an account into a telephone connected to transmitting station at Lackawanna yard; one report says his voice heard by J. Owen Smith who relayed the reports; White later said his own voice was broadcast; temporary transmitter in Hoboken on 1600 meters, 300,000 listeners
Summer, 1921. Hoover authorizes 360 and 400 meters
Aug. 5, 1921. FIRST BASEBALL GAME BROADCAST WITH A PLAY-BY-PLAY DESCRIPTION was aired by KDKA, the field being connected by wire to the broadcasting station. The National League Pittsburgh Corsairs defeated Philadelphia, 8-5, at Pittsburgh, for their third straight victory. First baseball play-by-play by Harold Arlin, 16. (FFF)
Fall, 1921. First football game broadcast by KDKA Harold Arlin, Pittsburgh vs West Virginia University
Sept. 17, 1921. St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports "Post-Dispatch Experimenting With Wireless Telephone From Golf Course," referring to a "hole-by-hole" broadcast of the National Amateur Golf Tour at the St. Louis Country Club. The Sept. 18 newspaper contained an article detailing the use of the wireless radiophone to transmit information from the country club to the newspaper offices, including the report that "Boy Scouts in East St. Louis informed the Post-Dispatch during the sending of the bulletins that they were 'listening in'... and that they were hearing the reports clearly.
Sept. 19, 1921. WBZ Springfield MA on air. First broadcast was at the Eastern States Exposition. Each of the governors of the New England states took their turn broadcasting. Gov. Cox of Mass. and Gov. Lake of Conn. gave the opening speeches via radio to open the fair [Donna Halper]. (WBZ was lic 9/15/21, 1500 w, first lic to specify 360 m, later described by Department of Commerce as first license for a broadcasting station)
Sept. 19, 1921. WDY Roselle Park NJ lic in a GE plant (RCA cooperative venture with GE), first program Dec. 14 9:15 to 10:15 p.m. (goes off Feb. 24, 1922 because RCA purchased WJZ from Westinghouse); used the blown transmitter of one-day WJY
Sept. 29, 1921. WCJ New Haven CT lic (del 12/1/22)
Oct. 1, 1921. Formal opening of WJZ Newark NJ, 8 p.m.
Oct. 1, 1921. 6XAK Los Angeles is licensed to the Leo J. Meyberg Co. [The station was a predecessor to KYJ. Information from Hilliker.]
Oct. 5, 1921. World Series on WJZ recreated by telephone, Thomas H. Cowan did not see game (another source says sports writer Grantland Rice described the action between the NY Yankees and NY Giants)
Oct. 13, 1921. WBL (WWJ) Detroit MI lic; WJX New York NY lic (del June 1924); KQL Los Angeles CA lic but possibly never went on the air [Hilliker] (del 6/9/22)
Nov., 1, 1921. KYJ Los Angeles CA. [KYJ, Hamburger's department store, owned by Leo J. Meyberg Company, went off the air for good on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1922. Los Angeles Evening Express had stories on this event three days in a row, Dec. 29, 30 and 31 1922. Info from Hilliker.]
Nov. 5, 1921. A message from President Harding is broadcast from Washington to 28 countries, sent in code over the 25,000-volt RCA station at Rocky Point, Long Island.
Nov. 11, 1921. President Harding addresses the nation using a telephone company hookup; KYW Chicago IL on air (first broadcast featured soprano Mary Garden)
Nov. 21, 1921. FIRST EDUCATIONAL RADIO STATION LICENSED was (WOI), Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, which received the call letters 9YI (375 meters, 100 watts) on November 21, 1921. (FFF)
Dec. 1, 1921. A second wavelength (485 meters) is authorized for crop and weather reports
Dec. 7, 1921. KWG Stockton CA lic
Dec. 8, 1921. KDN San Francisco CA lic; KGB San Francisco CA lic (first KGB) (del 3/23/22); KGC (KNX) Hollywood CA lic (had been 6ADZ); WJH Washington DC lic (del 3/26/24)
Dec. 8, 1921. KFC Seattle WA lic (del 1/23/23) [According to Donna Halper, this station went on the air in September 5, 1921, presumably using amateur calls. Contemporary newspaper accounts describe broadcasting at least two nights per week before December, operating under the auspices of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer with engineering done by the Northern Radio Co.]
Dec. 9, 1921. KQW (KCBS) San Jose CA lic (or lic Dec 7); KZM Oakland CA lic; KVQ Sacramento CA lic; KYJ Los Angeles CA lic; KZC Los Angeles CA lic (to KOG 2/2/22); KZY Oakland CA lic
Dec. 20, 1921. KJQ Stockton CA lic; KJJ Sunnyvale CA lic; KYY San Francisco CA lic
Dec. 22, 1921. WDM Washington DC lic; WDW Washington DC lic; WDT New York NY lic (went off in Dec 1923)
Dec. 24, 1921. WJZ begins religious programming as Rev. George P. Dougherty of Christ Episcopal Church in Glen Ridge NJ reads a Christmas eve message
Dec. 29, 1921. WOU Omaha NE lic (del 6/23/23)
Dec. 30, 1921. WMH Cincinnati OH lic (del 12/11/23)
Jan. 1, 1922. The Jersey Review broadcasts a one-hour New Year’s program from midnight to 1 a.m., sometimes considered the first commercial program. It was broadcast on Frank V. Bremer’s ham station 2IA, which was leased by the newspaper for $50. (As early as 1920 Bremer leased his facilities to the Jersey Review, probably as a communications station, charging $35 for a semiweekly service.) (This item courtesy of Bill Jaker.)
Jan. 1, 1922. WDM Washington DC begins broadcasting church services
Jan. 4, 1922. KLP Los Altos CA lic
Jan. 9, 1922. KQV Pittsburgh PA licensed as a broadcasting station [However, KQV existed with this call prior to this date with a different category of license.]
Jan. 13, 1922. WHA Madison WI lic; WLB (KUOM) Minneapolis MN lic
Jan. 16, 1922. AT&T plan to enter broadcasting released to public
Jan. 19, 1922. WNO Jersey City NJ on air [Jersey Journal contemporary account; Donna Halper]
Jan. 20, 1922. WPU Buffalo NY call assigned, temporary
Jan. 26, 1922. WDZ Toledo OH lic; WLK Indianapolis IN lic (began as 9ZJ on 12/31/21; went off in Mar. 1923)
Jan. 29, 1922. KLB Pasadena on air. [Jim Hilliker has confirmed that the first broadcast was on Sunday night, Jan. 29, 1922, consulting the Pasadena Star-News from January 1922.]
Feb. 2, 1922. KDP Seattle WA call assigned, temporary
Feb. 3, 1922. WGH Montgomery AL lic
Feb. 4, 1922. WGY Schenectady NY lic (Feb. 20 on air)
Feb. 7, 1922. 1XE becomes WGI as WGI Medford Hillside MA is licensed. In late February 1925, the call was changed to WARC. WARC did its last broadcast in April 1925. Information from Donna Halper]
Feb. 8, 1922. KGF Pomona CA lic but never went on the air [Hilliker]; WGL Philadelphia PA lic; the first radio installed in White House, in the second-floor library, by Navy wireless experts
Feb. 10, 1922. WWJ broadcasts the first complete symphony on radio, according to history published by the station
Feb. 13, 1922. KUO San Francisco CA lic
Feb. 16, 1922. WOZ Richmond IN lic
Feb. 17, 1922. WOQ Kansas City MO lic (was 9XAB; del 6/14/36)
Feb. 18, 1922. WOK Pine Bluff AR on air [Source: the Pine Bluff Commercial, which called this an example of the "radio-itis" craze sweeping the country. Info from Donna Halper]
Feb. 18, 1922. WOC Rock Island IL (Davenport IA) lic; WGI becomes the first station in Boston to broadcast news on a daily basis [Donna Halper].
Feb. 19, 1922. WJZ airs its first Broadway stage show, Ed Wynn’s 'The Perfect Fool'
Feb. 20, 1922. WOR assigned its call letters at 1 p.m.
Feb. 21, 1922. WBU Chicago IL lic (3/00/22 on air); WHK Cleveland OH lic Mar. 5 on air
Feb. 22, 1922. WOR Newark NJ (New York) on air; WHO Kansas City MO call assigned, temporary, K. C. Post
Feb. 23, 1922. WOS Jefferson City MO lic (on air 2/24/22; del 3/27/36)
Feb. 24, 1922. WDY goes off, giving WJZ a temporary monopoly of the New York metro area listening audience; WHW East Lansing MI lic; WRK Hamilton OH lic; WHQ Rochester NY lic; WFO Dayton OH lic
Feb. 27, 1922. First Annual Radio Conference held in Washington
Feb. 27, 1922. KHQ (KAQQ) Seattle (Spokane) WA lic [Owner Louis Wasmer later moved the station to Spokane and it debuted there on 30 October 1925, still under the KHQ calls. Info from Donna Halper]
Feb. 28, 1922. KFU Gridley CA lic; WHU Toledo OH lic; WJK Toledo OH lic; Radio arrives at White House
Mar. 1922. WBI Marquette MI call assigned, temporary
Mar. 1, 1922. WWS Pella IA call assigned, temporary
Mar. 2, 1922. WLW Cincinnati OH lic (was 8CR); WRL Schenectady NY lic
Mar. 3, 1922. WBL changes its call to WWJ
Mar. 6, 1922. WTB Evansville IN call assigned, temporary
Mar. 9, 1922. KJR Seattle WA lic (Mar. 14 on air); WTA Uhrichsville OH call assigned, temporary
Mar. 10, 1922. Variety carries the headline "Radio Sweeping Country - 1,000,000 Sets in Use.”
Mar. 10, 1922. KLS (KWBR, KDIA) Oakland CA lic (claims also 1920); KLZ Denver CO lic (was 9ZAF from 1919); WSH New York NY call assigned, temporary
Mar. 11, 1922. KRE (KPAT, KBLX, KBFN) Berkeley CA lic
Mar. 13, 1922. WRR (KAAM or KTCK) Dallas lic [Note: this date refers to the date WRR was licensed as what we now consider a broadcasting station. However WRR existed with this call prior to this date with a different category of license.]
Mar. 14, 1922. WGF Des Moines lic (del 9/29/23); WIK McKeesport PA lic; WIL Washington DC lic; WPM Washington DC lic; WRW Tarrytown NY lic
Mar. 14, 1922. KSD (KUSA, KSD, KTRS) St. Louis MO lic (on air 2/14/22 but forced off till lic 3/8, returned 3/14; formal debut 6/26; in late Sept. 1922 became first Class B station using 400 m; or 7/21/21 on air; Secrest has inaugural broadcast 3/11/22
Mar. 15, 1922. WSB Atlanta GA on air; KGG Portland OR lic; KGO Altadena CA lic
Mar. 16, 1922. WHD Morgantown WV lic; WKY Oklahoma City lic; KDPT San Diego CA lic; WPA Ft Worth TX lic; WSL Utica NY lic
Mar. 17, 1922. WFI Philadelphia PA lic (on air next day at 10:45 am)
Mar. 18, 1922. WBT Charlotte NC lic (was 4XD); WOO Philadelphia PA lic; WHN Ridgewood NY lic (or 5/18); KOP Detroit MI lic
Mar. 19, 1922. WGM Atlanta GA on air. [The station was earlier 4FT. It went out of business in late July 1923 and donated its equipment to Georgia Tech’s radio station, which became WBBF, q. v. Information from the Atlanta Constitution, courtesy of Donna Halper.]
Mar. 20, 1922. KOA Denver CO lic [this station was licensed to the Young Men’s Christian Association; the license was deleted on June 23, 1923; a second KOA in Denver began in 1924]
Mar. 20, 1922. WIP Philadelphia PA (call 'picked from a hat'); WMX Port Huron MI call assigned, temporary
Mar. 21, 1922. WCN Worcester MA lic (was 1XZ); WJT Erie PA lic; WRP Camden NJ lic; WSX Erie PA lic
Mar. 22, 1922. WCM (KUT, KTRH) Austin (Houston) TX; KJS (KTBI, KFAC, KWKW) Los Angeles CA on air
Mar. 23, 1922. KFZ Spokane WA lic; KMJ Fresno CA lic (BM has June 1925); KQT Yakima WA lic; WEV Houston TX lic; WEY Wichita KS lic (del 6/23/23); WKN Memphis TN lic (del 6/11/23); WMU Washington DC lic
Mar. 23, 1922. WEW St Louis MO lic (4/26/22 on air): "The oldest radio station in St. Louis, WEW-AM (770) will celebrate 75 years on the air in St. Louis with a free party Thursday (April 11) at The White House banquet center. The station signed on the air on April 26, 1921."
Mar. 25, 1922. KGW (KINK) Portland OR on air [According to a contemporary account in the Portland Oregonian, the first test broadcasts occurred on Mar. 23 and 24, and the station was officially dedicated on Mar. 25. Information from Donna Halper]
Mar. 25, 1922. KFV Yakima WA lic; WWI Dearborn MI lic; WWT Buffalo NY lic
Mar. 27, 1922. WDS Richmond VA call assigned, temporary; WMC Youngstown OH lic; WNJ Albany NY lic; WPG New Lebanon, OH lic
Mar. 28, 1922. KYG Portland OR lic; WRM (WILL) Urbana IL lic; WAH El Dorado KS lic; WPO Memphis TN lic; WSV Little Rock AR lic; WHX Des Moines IA first lic
Mar. 29, 1922. WEH Tulsa OK lic (del 6/12/23); WGU (WMAQ) Chicago IL lic (EB has Apr. 13 on air); WSY (WAPI) Birmingham AL lic; WTK Paris TX lic
Mar. 30, 1922. KGY Lacey (Olympia) WA lic (started about 1914 as 7YS Lacey); KQY Portland OR lic; WDV Omaha NE lic; WTP Bay City MI lic
Mar. 30, 1922. WKC Baltimore MD on air (Donna Halper says that Baltimore Sun reported that the owner said WKC would broadcast on Tuesday night, Thursday night, and Saturday night. The license was deleted on Nov. 24, 1923.)
Mar. 31, 1922. KFI Los Angeles CA lic (on air Apr 16); KGN Portland OR lic; KLN Monterey CA lic; KMC Reedley CA lic; WWL New Orleans LA lic (or 3/21 on air)
Apr. 1, 1922. Canada begins licensing specifically for "private commercial broadcasting." The agency responsible was the Radio Branch of the Department of the Naval Service. Previously, radio was considered experimental (hence XWA) no matter whether or not a professional company owned the station. Unlike the United States, however, radio listeners also had to have licenses. If you had a radio receiver, you had to purchase a license for it as of January 1922; the first such licenses cost $1 [Donna Halper].
Apr. 1, 1922. WOH Indianapolis on air [source: Indianapolis Star contemporary account provided by Donna Halper; another source gives Mar. 29]; KMO Tacoma WA on air.
Apr 2, 1922. WBS (WGCP, WHBI) Newark NJ on air [source: Newark Call, Donna Halper]
Apr. 3, 1922. WCK (WSBF) St Louis MO; KSL San Francisco CA first official broadcast, with studios on the roof of the Emporium Building [San Francisco Chronicle, Donna Halper]
Apr. 4, 1922. KGB Tacoma WA on air (the second KGB) (del 12/11/25) [According to the Tacoma Daily Ledger, which operated the station along with the William A. Mullins Electric Company, the station did its first tests on April 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and then went on the air with a regular program on April 4th, per the radio editor of the newspaper-- who was also one of the station's engineers, and a unique figure in early radio: Winifred Dow, one of the few women in the Pacific Northwest to have an amateur radio license. Info from Donna L. Halper, PhD]
Apr. 5, 1922. KHD Colorado Springs CO lic; KNJ Roswell lic (del 11/26/23); KOB (KKOB) State College NM lic or 5/1 on air; WBAA West Lafayette IN lic WBL Anthony KS lic; WCE Minneapolis MN lic; WDZ Tuscola IL lic; WEB St. Louis lic; WMB Auburn ME lic (del 3/21/23); WPJ Philadelphia PA; WPE (KFIX, KLDS, KMBC-KLDS, KMBC, KMBZ) Independence (Kansas City) MO lic (July 1926 RSB has when KLDS operates under auspices of the Kansas City Journal-Post it uses KMJP)
Apr. 6, 1922. WJD Granville OH lic; WMA Anderson IN lic; WPI Clearfield PA lic; WPL Zanesville OH lic; WSN Norfolk VA lic (del 1/16/23); WTG (KSAC, KKSU) Manhattan KS lic oldest survivor in KS; successor KSAC lic 1-27-25 but 12-1-24 on air
Apr. 6, 1922. WAAB (WJBO) New Orleans (Baton Rouge) LA on air according to a contemporary account in the New Orleans Times Picayune. The station was affiliated with the newspaper, which provided the new station’s nightly news bulletins. [Donna Halper]
Apr. 6, 1922. WGV New Orleans LA on air. [This station was owned by the Interstate Electric Co. and operated by the New Orleans Item. Thus it went on the air the same evening as WAAB, operated by a competing newspaper. Information from New Orleans Radio in the Twenties by May Lou Widmer, p. 89, provided by Donna Halper. The WGV license was deleted in June 1924.]
Apr. 7, 1922. WAAF (WGRT, WJPC) Chicago IL lic (4/30 on air or May on air)
Apr. 4, 1922. KGB Tacoma WA on air (the second KGB) (del 12/11/25) [According to the Tacoma Daily Ledger, which operated the station along with the William A. Mullins Electric Company, the station did its first tests on April 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and then went on the air with a regular program on April 4th, per the radio editor of the newspaper-- who was also one of the station's engineers, and a unique figure in early radio: Winifred Dow, one of the few women in the Pacific Northwest to have an amateur radio license. Info from Donna L. Halper, PhD
Apr. 10, 1922. KNR Los Angeles CA lic but never went on the air [Hilliker]; KNV Los Angeles CA lic; KON San Diego CA lic; KXS Los Angeles CA lic but never went on the air [Hilliker]; KZI Los Angeles CA lic but never went on the air [Hilliker]; WAAH St Paul MN lic; WAAJ Boston MA lic; WAAM (WBPI, WNEW) Newark NJ lic; WAAO Charleston WV lic
Apr. 11, 1922. WAAG Shreveport LA lic; KHJ Los Angeles CA first test broadcast
Apr. 12, 1922. KOE Spokane WA lic; KOQ Modesto CA lic; WAAE St Louis MO lic; KQP (KOIN, KYTE) Hood River (Portland, Sylvan, Portland) OR lic
Apr. 13, 1922. KHJ Los Angeles CA formally dedicated; KUS Los Angeles CA lic; KXD Modesto CA lic; WAAN Columbia MO lic; WAAQ Greenwich CT lic; WAAR Huntington WV lic; WAAZ Emporia KS
Apr. 14, 1922. WAAP Wichita KS lic
Apr. 15, 1922. WAAT Jersey City call assigned, temporary; WAAU Philadelphia call assigned, temporary
Apr. 17, 1922. KPO (KNBC, KNBR) San Francisco CA lic; WAAS Decatur GA lic; WWZ New York NY lic
Apr. 18, 1922. WBAC Des Moines IA call assigned, temp, 2 days from 4/28
Apr. 19, 1922. WAAV Athens OH lic; WAAW (KOWH, KMEO, KOWH, KOZN, KOWH, KCRO) Omaha NE lic; WAAX Crafton PA lic; WAAY Youngstown OH lic; WBAB Syracuse NY lic
Apr. 20, 1922. KZC Seattle WA
Apr. 20, 1922. WBAD Minneapolis MN formally inaugurates broadcasting at 7:45 p.m. (it began test broadcasts on Apr. 19 at 7:45pm) [contemporary articles in the Minneapolis Journal, provided by Todd Kosovich]
Apr. 21, 1922. KZN (KPFT, KSL) Salt Lake City UT lic (May 6 on air); WBAF Moorestown NJ lic; WBAG Bridgeport PA lic; WBAH Minneapolis MN lic (May 11 on air; till 1924)
Apr. 21, 1922. WBAE Peoria IL lic [According to Dan Kerns, the station began as 9YAN. The license expired July 20, 1922. The last broadcast may have been June 19, 1922, which was the last date program listings appeared in newspapers.]
Apr. 22, 1922. KTW Seattle WA lic (claims also 1920); WBAJ Toledo OH lic (a relicensing of deleted WDZ Toledo OH)
Apr. 22, 1922. WAAL Minneapolis MN on air [Minneapolis Journal contemporary account, courtesy of Todd Kosovich]
Apr. 24, 1922. WAAC New Orleans LA lic; WBAM New Orleans LA lic; WBAN Paterson NJ lic; WIZ Cincinnati OH lic
Apr. 25, 1922. KNN Los Angeles CA lic; WBAO Decatur IL lic
Apr. 26, 1922. KNT Aberdeen WA lic; KSC San Jose CA lic; KYF San Diego CA lic; WAAK Milwaukee WI first official broadcast
Apr. 27, 1922. WOE Akron OH on air [Akron Press, Ron Syroid, Donna Halper]
Apr. 28, 1922. WOI Ames IA lic (lic as 9YI 11/21/21, first educational station license)
Apr. 29, 1922. KNI Eureka CA lic; WBAQ South Bend IN lic; WBAU Hamilton OH lic; WBAV (WAIU, WHKC, frequency swap with WCLE, WTVN) Columbus OH lic (RSB shows WAIU as a new station in Oct. 1925 but a link between WBAV and WAIU is implied in Dept. of Commerce records)
Apr. 29, 1922. WBAW Marietta OH lic
May 1, 1922. KOJ Reno NV lic (del 6/7/22)
May 2, 1922. WBAZ Richmond VA on air [Atlanta Constitution, Donna Halper]
May 2, 1922. WBAP Fort Worth TX lic
May 3, 1922. KLX (KEWB, KNEW) Oakland CA lic; KZV Wenatchee WA lic; WCAB Newburgh NY lic; WCAE (WRYT, WTAE) Pittsburgh PA lic (5/4 on air); KJC Los Angeles CA on air [Los Angeles Times]
May 4, 1922. KNX Los Angeles CA lic (presumably, KGC changed to KNX); KQI Berkeley CA lic; KYI Bakersfield CA lic; WCAC Fort Smith AR lic; WCAD Canton NY lic (surrendered June 3, 1941); WCAG New Orleans LA lic
May 4, 1922. WCX (WJR) Detroit MI on air, according to an account in the Detroit Free Press [Donna Halper]
May 5, 1922. KSS Long Beach CA on air [Jim Hilliker]; WCAI Topeka KS call assigned, temporary
May 6, 1922. WCAJ University Place NE lic; WCAK Houston TX lic; WCAL Northfield MN lic
May 7, 1922. KWH Los Angeles CA on air
May 8, 1922. Four-letter "K" calls begin in the western U. S.; WCAM Villanova PA lic; WCAN Jacksonville FL lic; WCAO Baltimore MD lic (5/16 on air); WCAP Decatur IL
May 9, 1922. KDYO San Diego CA lic; KDYQ Portland OR lic; WCAQ Defiance OH lic; WCAR (KTSA) San Antonio TX lic; WCAS (WHDI) Minneapolis MN lic; WCAT Rapid City SD lic (del 10/28/52)
May 10, 1922. KDYM San Diego CA lic; KDYN Redwood City CA lic; KDYR Pasadena CA lic but never went on the air [Hilliker]; WCAU (WOGL, WGMP, WPTS, WPHT) Philadelphia PA lic; WHB Kansas City MO lic (or Apr. 15 on air)
May 11, 1922. KGU Honolulu HI on air
May 13, 1922. KDYS Great Falls MT lic May 19 on air (EB); KDYU Klamath Falls OR lic; KDYV Salt Lake City UT lic; WAAD Cincinnati OH lic; WCAV Little Rock AR lic; WCAW Quincy IL lic
May 13, 1922. WCAX (WVMT) Burlington VT lic [on the air in June; the call letters WCAX originally used by the University of Vermont were later acquired by the Burlington Daily News; the dedication of the new WCAX, and the first program under the new ownership were on 4 November 1931, according to Donna Halper]
May 13, 1922. Through the Indianapolis Star, WOH announces that it and WLK will both broadcast the Indianapolis 500, assuming details could be worked out to share time. [At this time, stations typically broadcast for an hour or two and then relinquished the frequency to another station. It was WOH’s turn that day, but the station agreed to do 15 minutes of the race and then let WLK do 15 minutes, and so on. Information from Donna Halper.]
May 15, 1922. WCAY (WKAF, WTMJ) Milwaukee lic (WKAF is listed as a new station in Aug. 1925 but a link between WCAY and WKAF is implied in Dept. of Commerce files); WCAZ Quincy (Carthage) IL lic; WDAA Nashville TN lic; WDAB Portsmouth OH lic; WDAC Springfield IL lic; WDAD Lindsborg KS lic
May 15, 1922. WBAX Wilkes-Barre PA begins regular programming every night after several nights of testing [source: Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, May 12, provided by Donna Halper]
May 16, 1922. WDAG Amarillo TX lic; WDAH El Paso TX lic; WDAI Syracuse NY lic
May 18, 1922. KDYY Denver CO lic; WDAJ College Park GA lic
May 19, 1922. KDZA Tucson AZ lic; WDAO Dallas TX lic; WDAL Jacksonville FL lic; WDAM (WEAF, WNBC, WFAN) New York lic; WDAN (KSBA, KTBS, KEEL) Shreveport LA lic (? merged w/ WGAQ) but Aug. 1926 RSB has KSBA Shreveport LA new;
May 19, 1922. WDAP (WGN) Chicago IL lic [Station was 9CT]
May 20, 1922. WDAK Hartford CT on air [Source: Hartford Courant which also noted that WDAK was the first station in the east to be operated by a newspaper. Info from Donna Halper]
May 20, 1922. CKOC Hamilton lic; KDZB Bakersfield CA lic; WDAQ Brownsville PA lic; WDAR (WLIT) Philadelphia PA lic
May 21, 1922. WGR Buffalo NY on air [Radio Digest]
May 22, 1922. WDAS Worcester MA lic; WDAT Worcester MA lic; WDAW Atlanta GA lic; WDAU New Bedford MA (claims 5/21/21; del 11/18/24; later WBBG, WNBH claims link to this station)
May 22, 1922. Gates Radio Co. is founded in Quincy, Illinois
May 23, 1922. KDZD Los Angeles CA lic but never went on the air [Hilliker]; WDAV Muskogee OK lic; WDAX Centerville IA lic; WDAY Fargo lic (May 22 on air); WDAZ Scranton PA call assigned, temporary
May 23, 1922. The first debate to be heard on radio is broadcast on WJH in Washington, DC. The two debaters argued about the topic of Daylight Saving Time with the audience acting as the judge [Those Were the Days].
May 23, 1922. WFAD Salina KS on air. [On May 21 the Salina Daily Union, which partly owned the station, reported that the first broadcast would be May 23, and on May 24 the newspaper described the opening-day programming. Neither article mentioned call letters. On June 16 the newspaper reported, “Our call letters, WFAD, arrived today.” Information from Donna Halper.]
May 25, 1922. KDZF Los Angeles CA lic but never went on the air [Hilliker]; KDZG San Francisco CA lic; KDZH Fresno CA lic; WEAB Fort Dodge IA lic; WEAC Terre Haute IN lic; WEAD Atwood KS lic; WEAE Blacksburg VA first authorized
May 26, 1922. KDZI Wenatchee WA lic; KDZJ Eugene OR lic; WEAH (KFH) Wichita KS lic
May 27, 1922. WEAI (WESG, WHCU) Ithaca lic; WEAJ (KUSD) Vermillion SD lic (claims 1919)
May 29, 1922. KDZL Ogden UT lic; KDZM Centralia WA lic; WEAG Edgewood RI lic (del 11/12/23)
May 30, 1922. An address by President Harding at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington is broadcast by radio. He used a microphone placed in a white box as to blend in with the white columns of the Memorial. The Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory was responsible for the broadcast. [Calvin Coolidge: Our First Radio President by Jerry L. Wallace] [On May 28, 1922, the New York Times reported, “For the first time President Harding has consented to make a speech into a radio broadcasting apparatus.” It reported the speech would be broadcast by NAA on 2650 meters and NOF on 412 meters.]
May 31, 1922. KDYX Honolulu HI lic; KDZP Los Angeles CA lic but never went on the air [Hilliker]; KDZQ (KHOW) Denver CO lic; WEAK St. Joseph MO lic; WEAL Des Moines call assigned, temporary; WEAM North Plainfield NJ; WDAE Tampa FL on air
June 1922. KF-- block begun including KFBK, KFKB, KFNF, KFQD
June 1, 1922. New York Times lists these stations (all on 360 m): WJZ WBZ WOR WGY KDKA KYW WWZ
June 2, 1922. WGAG Milwaukee WI call assigned, temporary; KDZT Seattle WA call assigned, temporary
June 3, 1922. WEAO (WOSU) Columbus OH lic (experimental 8XI 4/20/20 on air); WEAQ Berlin NH lic YMCA ("no proof ever on air"); KFAF Denver CO lic; WEAP Mobile AL lic; WEAS Washington DC lic; WEAT Tampa FL lic; WEAU Sioux City IA lic; WEAV Rushville NE lic
June 4, 1922. WDAE broadcasts first complete church service in U. S., from First Methodist Church of Tampa
June 5, 1922. WDAF Kansas City MO on air [The June 1923 Wireless Age reported that after a week of testing, the station took to the air on this date. Info from Donna Halper]
June 5, 1922. WFAA Dallas TX lic (6/26 on air); WEAN (WLKW) Providence RI lic
June 6, 1922. WEAX Little Rock AR lic; WEAY Houston TX lic; WEAZ Waterloo IA lic; WFAB Syracuse NY lic
June 7, 1922. KDZW San Francisco CA lic; KDZX San Francisco CA lic (del 1923; later KGTT claims link)
June 8, 1922. WFAC Superior WI lic; WFAF Poughkeepsie NY lic; WEAR (WFBR, WJFK) Baltimore MD on air
June 9, 1922. WFAG Waterford NY lic; WFAH Port Arthur TX lic; WFAJ Asheville NC lic
June 10, 1922. WFAK Brentwood MO
June 12, 1922. KDZZ Everett WA lic; WCAH (WBNS) Columbus OH lic (or 5/13); WFAL Houston TX lic
June 12, 1922. KDZR Bellingham WA on air [testing began May 26 and continued every night until the official on air date. Source: Bellingham Herald, June 12, 1922, provided by Donna Halper]
June 13, 1922. WFAM St Cloud MN lic; WFAN Hutchinson MN lic; WFAR Sanford ME lic
June 14, 1922. KFAB Portland OR lic (a later KFAB was in Lincoln NE); WFAQ Cameron MO lic; WFAT Sioux Falls SD lic; WGAB Houston TX lic
June 14, 1922. WFAS Fort Wayne IN on air [source: Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 15 June, provided by Donna Halper]
June 14, 1922. A speech by President Harding at the dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore is broadcast by WEAR (later WFBR and WJFK) in Baltimore. His voice was carried by telephone lines to the studio.
June 16, 1922. WFAV Lincoln NE lic
June 17, 1922. WFAX Binghamton NY lic; WFAY Independence KS lic; WFAZ Charleston SC lic
June 19, 1922. WGAC Brooklyn NY lic; WGAD Ensenada PR lic; WGAF Tulsa OK lic
June 20, 1922. WFAP Peoria IL on air [Dan Kerns]
June 21, 1922. KFAD (KREP, KTAR) Phoenix AZ lic; KFAE (KWSC, KWSU) Pullman WA lic (12/10/22 on air)
June 22, 1922. WGAH New Haven CT lic; WGAX Washington Court House OH call assigned, temporary
June 23, 1922. WGAJ Shenandoah IA lic
June 24, 1922. WGAK Macon GA lic; WGAL (WDDL, WLPA) Lancaster PA lic; WGAM Orangeburg SC lic; WGAN Pensacola FL lic
June 26, 1922. WFAW Miami FL on air [Miami Daily Metropolis, Donna Halper]
June 26, 1922. WGAQ (KWKH) Shreveport LA (or 6/6) (WDAN/WGAQ changed to KSBA, KTBS, KEEL) but Aug. 1926 RSB has KSBA Shreveport LA new; WGAR Fort Smith AR lic; WGAS Chicago IL lic; WGAT Lincoln NE lic; WHAA (WSUI) lic Iowa City IA (was 9YA, 1911)
June 27, 1922. WGAU Wooster OH lic
June 28, 1922. WGAY Madison WI lic; KFAC Glendale CA on air
June 29, 1922. WGAZ (WSBT) South Bend IN lic; WHAB Galveston TX
June 30, 1922. KFAJ Boulder CO lic; WGAV Savannah GA lic; WGAW Altoona PA lic; WHAC Waterloo IA lic; WHAD Milwaukee WI lic; WHAE Sioux City IA lic; WHAF Pittsburgh PA lic
July 1922. These stations, not otherwise listed on this page, are authorized: KDPM Cleveland OH; KFAP Butte MT; KFAQ San Jose CA; KFAR Hollywood CA; KFAS Reno NV; KFAT Eugene OR; KFAV Venice CA; KFBD Hanford CA; KFBE San Luis Obispo CA; KFBF Butte MT; WHAG Cincinnati OH; WHAH Joplin MO; WHAI Davenport IA; WHAJ Bluefield WV; WHAK Clarksburg WV; WHAL Lansing MI; WHAN Wichita KS; WHAO Savannah GA; WHAP Decatur IL; WHAQ Washington DC; WHAR Atlantic City NJ; WHAT Yale OK; WHAW Tampa FL; WHAX Holyoke MA; WHAY Huntington IN; WIAA Waupaca WI; WIAB Rockford IL; WIAC Galveston TX; WIAF New Orleans LA; WIAG Birmingham AL; WIAH Newton IA; WIAI Springfield MO; WIAJ Neenah WI; WIAK Omaha NE; WIAL Norwood OH; WIAN Allentown PA; WIAP Springfield MA; WIAQ Marion IN; WIAR Paducah KY; WIAS Burlington IA; WIAT Tarkio MO; WIAU Le Mars IA; WIAV Binghamton NY; WIAW Saginaw MI; WIAX Lincoln NE; WIAY Washington DC; WJAB Lincoln NE; WJAC Joplin MO; WJAE San Antonio TX; WJAF (WTHO) Muncie IN; WJAH Rockford IL; WJAJ Dayton OH; WJAK Stockdale OH (Greentown IN, Kokomo, Marion, Elkhart); WJAL Portland ME; WKAC Lincoln NE; WKAF Wichita Falls TX
July 5, 1922. WHAM Rochester NY lic (a reactivation of WHQ)
July 6, 1922. WFAU Boston MA on air. [Mayor Curley gave the opening dedication. The station was licensed on June 16. Information from Donna Halper.]
July 6, 1922. KFBA Lewiston ID lic (del 12/9/22)
July 8, 1922. WEAA (WFDF) Flint MI official opening, according to the same day Flint Daily Journal. [Information from Donna Halper]
July 13, 1922. WHAS Louisville KY lic (April on air)
July 14, 1922. KFBC (KGB, KCNN, KPOP) San Diego CA on air (the third KGB); WHAU Corinth MS lic (del 10/19/22); KUY El Monte CA on air
July 15, 1922. WWB Canton OH officially opens. [First program tests were July 9. These dates are from contemporaneous articles in the Canton Daily Times. Information provided by Ron Syroid and Donna Halper.]
July 18, 1922. KFAU (KIDO) Boise ID lic [According to Frank Aden, KFAU was originally 7YA, and one source indicates that 7YA aired Christmas music in Nov. and Dec. 1921. According to Donna Halper, the Boise Statesman statesman reported at the time that KFAU made its first official broadcast on July 12, 1922.]
July 18, 1922. WHAZ Troy NY lic (Sept. 11 on air)
July 21, 1922. WJAD (WACO) Waco TX lic; WIAE Vinton IA lic to Mrs. Marie (Robert Earl) Zimmerman. The first radio station licensed to a woman. The license expired Apr. 18, 1923, and was marked deleted 6/23/23. 360 m, 40 watts.
July 21, 1922. KDZK Reno NV on air [Donna Halper, Nevada State Journal contemporary account]
July 22, 1922. KFAN Moscow ID on air [Donna Halper, Moscow Daily Star-Mirror contemporary account]; WHAV (WDEL) Wilmington DE lic; WIAD (WELK, WDAS) Ocean City NJ (Philadelphia PA) lic; WIAO (WSOE, WISN) Milwaukee WI lic
July 25, 1922. WBAY New York NY on air. [The station was lic Apr. 29, 1922. The first evening program 8/3/22.]
July 29, 1922. WKAA (KWCR) Cedar Rapids IA on air (was 9CNF) [KWCR was moved to Des Moines and became KSO]
July 30, 1922. WJAM (WMT) Cedar Rapids (Waterloo) IA on air [Station’s first transmission, possibly testing, was June 10, according to log book. WMT took over KWCR’s studio in Cedar Rapids when KWCR moved to Des Moines and became KSO.]
Aug. 1922. These stations, not otherwise listed on this page, are authorized: KFAY Central Point (Medford) OR or Oct on air; KFBH Marshfield OR; KFBJ Boise ID; KFBM Astoria OR; KFBN portable CA; KFDB San Francisco CA; WIAZ Miami FL; WJAN Peoria IL; WJAP Duluth MN; WJAQ Topeka KS; WJAT Marshall MO; WJAU Yankton SD; WJAX (WEAR) Cleveland OH; WKAD East Providence RI; WKAG Louisville KY; WKAH West Palm Beach FL; WKAJ Fargo ND; WKAK Okemah OK; WKAL Orange TX; WKAM Hastings NE; WKAN Montgomery AL; WKAP Cranston RI; WKAQ San Juan PR lic (Dec. 3 on air); WKAS Springfield MO; WKAT Frankfort IN; WKAW Beloit WI; WKAX Bridgeport CT; WKAY Gainesville GA; WKAZ Wilkes-Barre PA; WLAB Carrollton MO; WLAC Raleigh NC; WLAD Hastings NE; WLAF Lincoln NE; WLAH (WFBL, WDCW) Syracuse NY; WLAJ Waco TX; WMAD Rock Port MO; WMAH Lincoln NE; WMAM Beaumont TX; WNAL Omaha NE
Aug. 1, 1922. KDYW Phoenix AZ on air, after several days of testing beginning on July 25. [Information from Donna Halper, the Arizona Republic. The station was deleted on April 4, 1924.]
Aug. 2, 1922. WJAR (WHJJ) Providence RI
Aug. 4, 1922. WJAS (WAMP, WJAS, WKPQ, WKTQ, WJAS) Pittsburgh PA lic or 12/2/22 on air
Aug. 17, 1922. KFBL (KRKO) Everett WA lic; WJAZ (WSAX) Chicago (Mt. Prospect) IL lic
Aug. 18, 1922. WKAR East Lansing MI
Aug. 21, 1922. KFAW Santa Ana CA on air
Aug. 22, 1922. WKAV (WLNH, WEZS) Laconia NH on air
Aug. 22, 1922. WEAF airs its first commercial between 5 & 5:30p, 10-min., Queensboro Corp. for apartments in Jackson Hts., Queens. WEAF has claimed inaccurately that this was radio’s first commercial.
Aug. 22, 1922. KFBB (KKGF, KEIN) Havre (Great Falls) MT on air [On air date from the Havre Daily Promoter; station moved to Great Falls in Sept. 1929 according to the Havre Daily News. Info from Donna Halper.]
Aug. 28, 1922. KDYL (KCPX, KCNR) Salt Lake City UT on air [Radio magazine, Donna Halper]
Sept. 1922. Second entertainment wavelength (400 m) authorized for higher power stations, designated class B; those on 360 m became Class A (late September)
Sept. 1922. These stations, not otherwise listed on this page, are authorized: WRAW Reading PA on air; KFBQ Prescott AZ; KFBS Trinidad CO; KFCC Wallace ID; KFCD Salem OR [went off the air 1/22/24]; WLAK Bellows Falls VT; WLAL Tulsa OK; WLAM Springfield OH; WLAN Houlton ME; WLAO Scranton PA; WLAQ Kalamazoo MI; WLAR Marshalltown IA; WLAS Hutchinson KS; WLAT Burlington IA; WLAV Pensacola FL; WLAW New York NY; WLAX Greencastle IN; WLAZ Warren OH; WMAB Oklahoma OK; WMAD Rock Port MO; WMAG Liberal KS; WMAJ Kansas City MO; WMAL Trenton NJ; WMAP Easton PA; WMAQ Chicago IL; WMAR Waterloo IA; WMAS Richmond VA; WMAT Duluth MN; WNAB Bowling Green KY; WNAF Enid OK; WNAG Cresco IA; WNAH Wilkes-Barre PA; WOAA Ardmore OK; WOAE Fremont NE; WPAN Houston TX; WQAQ Abilene TX; WRAU Amarillo TX
Sept. 1, 1922. The Radio Digest, hosted by George F. Thompson, premieres on WBAY. [It is claimed to be the first daily news program on radio. However, Donna Halper reports that she has newspaper citations from Chicago (KYW), Detroit (WWJ) and Pittsburgh (KDKA) from January through March 1922 which mention daily newscasts. See also Feb. 18, 1922]
Sept. 2, 1922. KFBK Sacramento CA on air [Radio magazine, Donna Halper]
Sept. 4, 1922. WLAG Minneapolis MN on air (subsequent WCCO operated on its frequency)
Sept. 6, 1922. KFCB (KOY) Phoenix AZ lic (or April 1922 on air); WJAR Providence RI on air
Sept. 13, 1922. WJAG Norfolk NE on air [This date is taken from the station’s web site, which says the station did tests off and on throughout the summer. The station was licensed on July 27, 1922]
Sept. 15, 1922. WLAP Louisville (Okalna, Lexington) KY lic; WMAC (WSYR) Cazenovia NY on air (but WSYR lic Nov. 15, 1926 as a new station); WNAC Boston MA lic (broadcasts by “the Shepard station” began earlier, on 7/31/22, but did not use this call)
Sept. 16, 1922. WMAF Dartmouth MA lic
Sept. 25, 1922. WMAK (WBEN) Lockport (Buffalo) NY lic [In 1930 the station changed ownership to the Buffalo Evening Newsand signed on with the new call letters WBEN on Sept. 8, 1930.]
Sept. 25, 1922. WOAI San Antonio TX on air
Sept. 26, 1922. WNAD Norman OK lic
Sept. 27, 1922. WLAY Fairbanks AK lic (del 8/21/23)
Sept. 30, 1922. CKAC Montreal has its official on air program with the broadcast of a "huge concert.” [The first test concert broadcast was Sept. 22, 1922. Information provided by a reader of this page, consulting contemporary newspaper accounts.]
Oct. 1922. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFBV Colorado Springs CO; KFCF (KOWW) Walla Walla WA; KFCH Billings MT; KFDA Baker OR; KFDD Boise ID; KFEB Taft CA; KFEC (KIT) Portland OR; KFFE Pendleton OR; WGM Atlanta GA; WMAU Shreveport LA; WMAW Wahpeton ND; WMAX Ann Arbor MI; WMAY St. Louis MO; WNAJ Chicago IL; WNAK Manhattan KS; WNAM Evansville IN; WNAN Syracuse NY; WNAP (WCSO) Springfield OH; WNAR Butler MO; WNAS Austin TX; WOAB Grand Forks ND; WOAC Lima OH; WOAD Sigourney IA; WOAG Belvidere IL; WOAV Erie PA; WPAA Wahoo NE; WPAB (WPSC) State College PA; WPAF Council Bluffs IA; WQAA Parkesburg PA; WRAR David City NE; WSAS Lincoln NE; WSAV Houston TX; WWAC Waco TX; WWAX Laredo TX
Oct. 3, 1922. WMAV (WSY, WAPI) Auburn AL lic (Feb. 1926 WAPI on air); KFBU (KWYO) Laramie WY lic (del 9/24/29)
Oct. 5, 1922. WMAN (WSEN, WCOL, WFII, WZNW, WCOL, WTPG, WYTS) Columbus OH lic
Oct. 7, 1922. WTAW College Station TX lic (was 5YA in 1919, 5XB in 1920)
Oct. 7, 1922. FIRST CHAIN BROADCAST was accomplished when WJZ and WGY transmitted a World Series game from the field. Ordinary telegraph lines from Newark and Schenectady were connected with the Polo Grounds, where a single microphone connected to these lines completed the requirements. Graham McNamee was the announcer. (FFF)
Oct. 10, 1922. PWX Havana Cuba on air [date provided by Donna Halper]
Oct. 17, 1922. WNAT (WHAT) Philadelphia PA lic (11/15/25 on air)
Oct. 27, 1922. FIRST ELECTION CAMPAIGN USING RADIO was undertaken by Senator Harry Stewart New, R-IN, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for reelection in 1922. He used radio the last five days of the campaign, from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 1922, and hired several halls in which loud speakers were placed. He was defeated Nov 7 by Samuel Moffett Ralston, the Democratic candidate. (FFF)
Oct. 28, 1922. WEAF airs Princeton-Chicago football game via long lines
Oct. 30, 1922. WMAZ Macon GA lic (Aug. 18 on air)
Nov. 1922. These stations, not otherwise listed on this page, are authorized: KFCK Colorado Springs CO; KFCL San Antonio CA (KFCL Los Angeles CA is new in July 1924); KFCQ Casper WY; KFDF Casper WY; KFED Polytechnic MT; KFEJ Tacoma WA; KFFA San Diego CA; KFGG Astoria OR; KFGH Stanford University CA; KYQ Honolulu HI; WNAQ Charleston SC; WNAW Fort Monroe VA; WNAY Baltimore MD; WOAF Tyler TX; WOAH Charleston SC; WOAJ Parsons KS; WOAK Frankfort KY; WOAL Webster Groves MO; WOAP Kalamazoo MI; WOAQ Portsmouth VA; WOAR Kenosha WI; WOAZ Stamford TX; WPAC Okmulgee OK; WPAD Chicago IL; WPAG Independence MO; WPAL Columbus OH; WPAM Topeka KS; WRAA Houston TX; WSAJ Grove City PA; WTAC Johnston PA; WTAU Tecumseh NE
Nov. 3, 1922. WNAV (WNOX) Knoxville TN lic (WB has WNAV burned in 1923 and rebuilt in 1925 as WNOX) WNAV new again RSB Apr. 1925
Nov. 9, 1922. WNAX Yankton SD lic
Nov. 21, 1922. WOAN Lawrenceburg TN lic (merged with KFNG/WREC); KFDC Spokane WA lic (or Oct. 16 on air); del 9/19/23; relic 4/23/24 as KFPY (KXLY)
Nov. 27, 1922. WOAW (WOW, KOMJ) Omaha NE lic [According to Donna Halper, the station made its first broadcast on Apr. 2, 1923]
Nov. 29, 1922. WRAY (WQAN, WEJL) Scranton PA lic (or WQAN lic 11/9/29; see WEJL elsewhere)
Dec. 1922. These new stations not elsewhere mentioned on this page are authorized: KFAZ Reedley CA; KFCM Richmond CA; KFDH Tucson AZ; KFDL Denver CO; KFEP Denver CO; KFHJ Santa Barbara CA; WOAS Middletown CT; WOAY Birmingham AL; WPAH (WLBL) Waupaca (Stevens Point) WI claims 2/5/22; WPAK Agricultural College ND; WPAP Winchester KY; WPAQ Frostburg MD; WPAR Beloit KS; WPAS Amsterdam NY; WPAT El Paso TX; WPAU Moorhead MN; WPAV Laurium MI; WPAW Wilmington DE; WQAB Springfield MO; WQAE Springfield VT; WQAK Dubuque IA; WQAL Mattoon IL; WQAY Hastings NE; WRAN Waterloo IA; WSAT Plainview TX; WWAD Philadelphia PA
Dec. 2, 1922. WPAJ (WDRC) New Haven CT lic (or Dec 10 on air) (was K1RP)
Dec. 4, 1922. WOAX (WTNJ, WAAT, WTNJ, WIMG) Trenton NJ lic
Dec. 7, 1922. KFDJ (KOAC) Corvallis OR lic
Dec. 8, 1922. President Harding’s address to Congress is heard by a few thousand listeners in the Washington area [Calvin Coolidge: Our First Radio President by Jerry L. Wallace]
Dec. 24, 1922. A Christmas Eve broadcast, making use of a General Electric Pallophotophone sound recording, is transmitted by WGY. Holiday greetings from Vice President Coolidge, Secretary of War John W. Weeks, and Secretary of the Navy Edwin N. Denby were included. [Calvin Coolidge: Our First Radio President by Jerry L. Wallace]
Dec. 27, 1922. WPAX Thomasville GA on air (or Dec. 26)
Dec. 28, 1922. WQAC (KGRS, KGNC) Amarillo TX Gish Radio Service
The following is a list, perhaps incomplete, of temporary licenses issued during the 1920s. Some were for a period of as little as one day. Some of these stations also appear in this chronology at the appropriate places, but others do not. Some of these stations also operated as regular stations before or after their brief existence as temporary stations. (This list courtesy of Thomas White.)
KDP Seattle WA; KDU Yakima WA; KDZT Seattle WA; KFFD Tacoma WA; KFLC Dallas TX; KFMB Little Rock AR; KFPJ Huron SD; KFPZ Bay City MI; KFRK Des Moines IA; KFVP Omaha NE; KFVP Sioux Falls SD; KFWL Pai Maui HI; KGGU San Francisco CA; KGIE Milwaukee WI; KRCA Los Angeles CA; KRCA Riverside CA; KRCA San Francisco CA; KYG Portland OR; WAAT Jersey City NJ; WAAU Philadelphia PA; WAAU Philadelphia PA; WADC Akron OH; WBAC Des Moines IA; WBAH Minneapolis MN; WBI Marquette MI; WCBP Dixon IL; WCBS Macomb IL; WDAL Jacksonville FL; WDAZ Scranton PA; WDBG Gettysburg PA; WDBM Fort Wayne IN; WDS Richmond VA; WEAL Des Moines IA; WEBB Portland ME; WEBF Dayton OH; WEBM Detroit MI; WEBN Estes Park CO; WFBP Chatham OH; WGAG Milwaukee WI; WGBP Tampa FL; WHBZ Anderson SC; WHO Kansas City MO; WIAM Dunmore PA; WIBB Freeport IL; WJAW Audubon IA; WJAY Des Moines IA; WJBH Rocky Mount NC; WJBJ Butler PA; WJBM Battle Creek MI; WJBS Auburn NY; WLBD Erie PA; WLFQ Chelsea MA; WMX Port Huron MI; WNAZ Bethlehem PA; WNBV Barbaboo WI; WNOR New Orleans LA; WOAM Bethlehem PA; WPU Buffalo NY; WQAG Redfield SD; WRAQ Haddonfield NJ; WSAM Milton WI; WSH New York NY; WTA Uhrichsville OH; WTAV Richmond VA; WTB Evansville IN; WTBF Skowhegan ME; WWS Pella IA
Jan. 1, 1923. First broadcast of the New Years Day Rose Bowl Football Game from Pasadena by KHJ, Los Angeles. [USC played Penn State. The broadcast of the game, which was then called the East vs West Football game, was confirmed by Jim Hilliker from a contemporary account in the Los Angeles Times. The first coast-to-coast broadcast of the Rose Bowl game was on NBC on 1/1/27.]
Jan. 1, 1923. New York Times lists: 422 WBZ; 403 WGY; 400 WEAF WOR KYW WOC WWJ WSB PWX; 360 WJZ WGI (This list shows stations appearing in either the Jan. 1 or Jan. 3 listing)
Jan. 4, 1923. WEAF and WNAC link up to achieve the first chain broadcast, lasting 5 minutes; both music and voice were broadcast
Jan. 1923. These new stations not elsewhere mentioned on this page are authorized: KFCP Ogden UT; KFCV Houston TX; KFEL Denver CO (but KFEL (KIMN, KYGO) claims 7/4/22); KFFB Boise ID; KFFQ Colorado Springs CO; KFGB Pueblo CO; WPAY Bangor ME; WPAZ Charleston WV; WQAD Waterbury CT; WQAF Sandusky OH; WQAH Lexington KY; WQAJ Ann Arbor MI; WRAC Mayville ND; WRAD Marion KS; WRAJ Pittsburgh PA; WRAM Galesburg IL; WRAO St. Louis MO; WRAV Yellow Springs OH; WSAA Marietta OH; WSAB Cape Girardeau MO
Jan. 1923. WQAO New York NY (Cliffside NJ) (July 1926 RSB states that when WQAO is operating under the auspices of the Palisades Amusement Park WPAP Palisades Park (Cliffside) NJ is used)
Jan. 1923. WQAR (WJAF, WTHO) Muncie IN (July 1926 RSB has WJAF Muncie IN new) but see WJAF
Jan. 1923. Mississippi River adopted to separate W and K calls
Jan. 4, 1923. WQAN (WEJL) Scranton PA
Jan. 19, 1923. WMC Memphis TN lic (Jan. 23 on air)
Jan. 23, 1923. WQAM Miami FL lic [On Jan. 31, 1923, the Miami Daily Metropois referred to "WQAM, formerly known as WFAW," although the Department of Commerce licensed WQAM as a new station, rather than a call letter change. Info from Donna Halper]
Feb. 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFCY (KWUC) Le Mars IA; KFCZ (KOCH) Omaha NE; KFDO Bozeman MT; KFDP Des Moines IA; KFDR York NE; KFDU Lincoln NE; KFDV Fayetteville AR; KFER Fort Dodge IA; KFGF Mount Vernon WA; WQAT Westhampton VA; WQAV Greenville SC; WQAW Washington DC; WRAB Savannah GA; WSAC Clemson SC; WSAH Chicago IL; WSAL Brookville IN; WTAS (WLIB) Elgin IL; WWAY Chicago IL
Feb. 1, 1923. The Radio Service Bulletin reports that the first broadcast of standard frequencies by station WWV is scheduled for March 6, 1923. [Preliminary transmission of standard frequencies on WWV was made to and received by about 30 observers located within 1000 miles of Washington, DC, on Jan. 29-30, 1923].
Feb. 16, 1923. KFEQ Oak NE lic
Mar. 1923. These new stations not elsewhere mentioned on this page are authorized: KFDX Shreveport LA; KFDZ Minneapolis MN; KFEY Kellogg ID; KFEZ St. Louis MO; KFFO Hillsboro OR; KFFP Moberly MO; KFFV Lamoni IA; KFGL Arlington OR; KFHA Gunnison CO; KFHB Hood River OR; KFHH Neah Bay WA; KFIF (KBPS) Portland OR; KQP Portsmouth VA; WQAX Peoria IL; WQAZ Greensboro NC; WRAH Providence RI; WRAK Escanaba MI; WRAP Winter Park FL; WRAL St. Croix Falls WI; WRAS McLeansboro IL; WSAP (WSDA) New York; WWAJ Columbus OH
Mar. 12, 1923. WQAS Lowell MA on air [Donna Halper, consulting the Lowell Sun]
Mar. 20, 1923. Second Annual Radio Conference is held
Apr. 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFFX Omaha NE; KFFY Alexandria LA; KFFZ Dallas TX portable; KFGC Baton Rouge LA; KFGD (KOCW) Chickasha OK; KFGJ St. Louis MO; KFGM Abilene TX; KFGP Cheney KS; KFGV Utica NE; KFGX Orange TX; KFGY Baudette MN; KFHC Norman OK; KFHD St. Louis MO; KFHF Shreveport LA; KFHI Wichita KS; KFIC Denver CO; WABA Lake Forest IL (start W-B- WBBM WFBR WIBG etc.); WABB Harrisburg PA; WRAF Laporte IN
Apr. 3, 1923. WLW broadcasts original play for radio by program manager Fred Smith "When Love Wakens," may have been first play written for radio (EB)
Apr. 12, 1923. KFHR Seattle WA on air [Seattle Times contemporary account, Donna Halper]
Apr. 14, 1923. KFFR Sparks NV begins regular broadcasts, operating from Sparks High School [(Reno) Nevada State Journal contemporary account, from to Donna Halper]
Apr. 23, 1923. KFDY Brookings SD on air (lic voluntarily relinquished Dec. 1 1941)
Apr. 28, 1923. KFGQ Boone IA lic; KFGZ (WEMC, WKZO) Berrien Springs (Kalamazoo) MI lic
May 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFEX Minneapolis MN; KFHL Oskaloosa IA; KFHP Kearney NE; KFIB St. Louis MO; KFIJ Iola KS; KFIK Platte SD; KFIQ Yakima WA; KFJD Greeley CO; KFKH Lakeside CO; WABC Anderson IN; WABD Dayton OH; WABE Washington DC; WABF Mt. Vernon IL; WABG Jacksonville FL; WABH Sandusky OH; WABI Bangor ME; WABJ South Bend IN; WBBA Newark OH; WBBC Sterling IL; WBBD Reading PA; WCBA Allentown PA (WSAN claims May 24 1923 on air; same station?); WCBB Greenville OH
May 12, 1923. WJY New York NY lic (RCA starts a second NY station, in the Aeolian Hall, dedicated to quality programming vs WJZ’s pop programming; it was a commercial flop)
May 12, 1923. WJAZ Chicago IL established (New York Times) [The station was taken over by the Chicago Tribune in March 1924; the New York Times reported on 6/8/24 that the call will be taken over temporarily by Zenith experimental station]
May 15, 1923. The AM broadcast band is opened (550-1350 kHz) (previously, stations generally operated on 360 meters or 400 meters); 550-1040 is designated for Class B stations, with 500-1000 watts; 1050-1350 is designated for Class A stations, with 5-500 watts. The following are some important frequency assignments:
550 KSD 680 WOS 570 WOAW 700 WSB-WGM 580 WWJ-WCX 710 KPO 590 KFDB 720 WLAG 590 WOO-WIP 730 WDAF-WHB 600 WMC 740 WJY-WOR-WDT 610 KGW 750 WHAS 610 WBAY-WEAF 760 KHJ 620 WOC 760 WFI-WDAR 630 WFAA-WBAP 770 WBAV-WJAX 640 KFI 780 WOAI 640 WRC-WCAP 790 WGY-WHAZ 650 WCAE 870 KYW-WCBD 660 KDZE 890 WBZ 660 WJZ 920 KDKA 670 WMAQ-WJAZ 970 WLW-WSAI New York assignments: Class A--WAAM 263 m, new station lic to the Radio Shop of Newark 283 m, WSAP 263 m, WFAF 273 m, WRW 273 m, WBAN 244m. Class B--WEAF 492 m, WOR 405 m, WGY 380 m, WJZ 455 m, WJY 405 m, WHAZ 380 m, WDT 405 m, WBAN 492 m, New People’s Pulpit Station 455 m. Class C--(all on 360 m) WQAO, WBS, WLAW, WHN, and WNJ.
May 15, 1923. At first NAB convention (in Chicago) John Shepard is elected Vice President
May 22, 1923. KFIO (KSPO, KLYK, KRSS) Spokane WA lic claims Sept. 1921
June 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFHQ Los Gatos CA; KFHS Lihue HI; KFHU Mayville ND; KFHX Hutchinson KS; KFHY Trinidad CO; KFIL Louisburg KS; KFIU Juneau AK; KFIV Pittsburg KS; KFIX Independence KS; KFJA Grand Island NE; KFLE Denver CO; WABK Worcester MA; WABM Saginaw MI; WABN La Crosse WI; WCAP Washington DC (later bought by WRC, deleted); WDBC Lancaster PA; WDBF Youngstown OH; WRAX Gloucester City NJ (Philadelphia PA); WRAZ (WCBX, WNJ) Newark NJ; WSAG St. Petersburg FL; WSAK Middleport OH; WSAQ Dartmouth MA; WTAG Providence RI; WTAK Steubenville OH
June 2, 1923. KFJB Marshalltown IA lic
June 4, 1923. KFKA Greeley CO (claims May 21 1921)
June 7, 1923. WSAI (WAZU) Cincinnati OH on air
June 9, 1923. WABO Rochester NY (consolidated with WHEC in 1927)
June 13, 1923. WSAD Providence RI on air [Providence Journal, Donna Halper]
June 14, 1923. WRAW Reading PA lic
June 21, 1923. President Harding’s speech at the Coliseum in St. Louis is broadcast on KSD in St. Louis and WEAF in New York.
June 22, 1923. WCBD (WAIT) Zion IL (Chicago IL) formal opening [Source: an old QSL card; Donna Halper]
June 26, 1923. WTAB Fall River MA on air [Donna Halper, consulting the Fall River Evening Herald]
June 30, 1923. WSAN (WXKW) Allentown PA lic (relic 12/30/24)
July 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFIY Seattle WA; KFJH Selma CA; KFJI Astoria OR; KFJJ Carrollton MO; KFJK Bristow OK; WSAU Chesham NH; WSAW Canandaigua NY; WSAX (WJAZ) Chicago IL; WTAF (WOWL) New Orleans LA (deleted in 1926)
July 1, 1923. WEAF and WMAF South Dartmouth Mass. linked, become the first radio network in the modern sense
July 3, 1923. WSAR Fall River MA lic (claims lic Sept 21 1921)
July 6, 1923. KFIZ Fond du lac WI lic (claims May 1922)
July 14, 1923. KFJF (KOMA) Oklahoma City OK lic claim Dec. 4 1922 on air
July 17, 1923. KFJC Seattle WA on air [Donna Halper]
July 29, 1923. WTAD Carthage IL lic
Aug. 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFJL Ottumwa IA; KFJQ Grand Forks ND portable; KFJR (KALE, KPOJ) Stevensville MT nr (Portland OR); WTAH Belvidere IL; WTAJ Portland ME
Aug. 1, 1923. WRC Washington DC on air [info from Radio World, Aug. 11, 1923, courtesy of Donna Halper]
Aug. 8, 1923. KDZE (KFOA, KOL, KMPS) Seattle WA on air (but licensed May 23, 1922) [Seattle Times contemporary account, Donna Halper]
Aug. 13, 1923. KFJM (KUND) Grand Forks ND lic
Sept. 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFJU Kearney NE; KFJV Dexter IA; KFJW Towanda KS; KFJX Cedar Falls IA; KFJY Fort Dodge IA; KFJZ Fort Worth TX (del Sept. 6 1939); KFKX Hastings NE; WTAN Mattoon IL; WTAP Cambridge IL (was 9APK; claim link to subsequent WHBF); WTAT (WATT) Boston MA
[Donna Halper reports that the company magazine Edison Life announced WTAT’s first appearance on May 15. It was a portable, designed to appear at electric shows and expositions.]
Sept. 4, 1923. WTAQ (WGEE) Osseo (Eau Claire) WI lic
Sept. 7, 1923. WTAL (WSPD) Toledo OH lic (authorized operation by telegram 8/4) (WSPD claims Apr. 15 1921)
Sept. 19, 1923. WTAM (KYW, WKYC, WWWE, WTAM) Cleveland OH on air 8 p.m.
Sept. 20, 1923. KFKB (KFBI, KIRL, KFDI) Milford KS lic pop 200 (EB)
Sept. 21, 1923. WTAR Norfolk VA lic
Oct. 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFKQ Conway AR; KFKV Butte MT; KFKZ Colorado Springs CO (but KFVO Kirksville MO became KFKZ); KFLA Butte MT; KFLB Menominee MI; KFLD Franklinton LA; KFLH Salt Lake City UT; KFLP Cedar Rapids IA; KFLQ Little Rock AR; KFLR Albuquerque NM; WSAY Port Chester NY; WTAX Streator IL; WTAZ Lambertville NJ (Richmond VA); WWAB Trenton NJ
Oct. 1923. Graham McNamee gave on the spot play by play of World Series in first network sports assignment, originating from WJZ
Oct. 10, 1923. WTAY (WGES, WYNR, WNUS, WVON) Oak Park IL lic
Oct. 16, 1923. WSAZ (WGNT, WRVC, WTKZ) Pomeroy OH (Charleston WV) lic
Nov. 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFLW Missoula MT; KFLY Fargo ND; KFLZ Atlantic IA; KFMB Little Rock AR; WABP Dover OH; WABQ (WFAN) Haverford (Philadelphia) PA; WABR Toledo OH; WABS Newark NJ; WABT Washington PA; WABU Camden NJ; WABV Nashville TN; WOAR Kenosha WI; WWAE Joliet (Plainfield) IL; WWAF Camden NJ; WWAO Houghton MI
Nov. 1, 1923. KFLU (KHMC, KRGV) San Benito TX lic
Nov. 3, 1923. KFLV (WROK) Rockford IL lic
Nov. 16, 1923. WABL (WCAC) Storrs (Mansfield) CT formal opening following a long period of testing [Source: Hartford Courant, info from Donna Halper; the licensee voluntarily surrendered the facility effective Apr. 30, 1936]
Nov. 28, 1923. KFLX (KLUF, KILE, KHBC) Galveston TX lic [This station later claimed a start date of 1922, perhaps claiming a link to the earlier WHAB.]
Dec. 1923. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFMR Sioux City IA; KFMS Duluth MN; KFMU San Marcos TX; KFMW Houghton MI; KFMX Northfield MN; WABW Wooster OH; WABX Mount Clemens MI nr
Dec. 4, 1923. KFMQ (KUOA) Fayetteville AR lic (oldest survivor in AR, as KUOA, or went off 1928 because forced to share time)
Dec. 6, 1923. President Coolidge’s address to Congress is broadcast by a nationwide hook-up and is heard by millions. The broadcast was carried over WEAF, WCAP, WJAR, KSD, WDAF, and WFAA. [Calvin Coolidge: Our First Radio President by Jerry L. Wallace]
Dec. 17, 1923. KFMT (WHAT, WGWY, WDGY) Minneapolis MN lic George W. Young
Jan. 1924. Huey P. Long on WCAG New Orleans, 8000 sets there
Jan. 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere on this page are authorized: KFMY Long Beach CA; KFMZ Roswell NM; KFNH Springfield MO; KFNJ Warrensburg MO; WABY Philadelphia PA (del Dec. 28 1929); WABZ New Orleans LA; WBBE Syracuse NY; WBBH Port Huron MI; WBBI Indianapolis IN; WBBJ West Palm Beach FL; WBBK Pittsburgh PA; WBBL Richmond VA; WBBN Wilmington DE; WBBO Rogers MI; WBBP Petoskey MI; WBBQ Pawtucket RI; WCBC Ann Arbor MI
Jan. 8, 1924. KGO Oakland CA lic & begins regular programming 312 m
Jan. 9, 1924. WBBG (WNBH) Mattapoisett (New Bedford) MA lic (claims link to previous WDAU)
Jan. 13, 1924. WBBF (WGST) Atlanta GA on air. [Date from the Atlanta Constitution, which also reported on Jan. 11, 1925, that WBBF changed its call letters to WGST. Information from Donna Halper.]
Jan. 17, 1924. KFNG (WREC) Coldwater (Memphis, Whitehaven) MS lic (claims 9/22/22; had been 5RK claiming 1919; White has KFNG would be oldest in MS but in early 1927 moved to TN, and was later consolidated with TN’s oldest station, WOAN) (or lic Jan. 27)
Jan. 31, 1924. WBBM Lincoln (Chicago) IL lic (or 11/14/23 on air)
Feb. 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFNC Corsicana TX; KFNF Shenandoah IA; KFNL Paso Robles CA; KFNV Santa Rosa CA; KFNX Peabody KS; KFNY Helena MT; KFOB Minneapolis MN; KFOC Whittier CA; KFOD Wallace ID; KFOF Marshfield OR; KFOH Portland OR; KFOJ Moberly MO; KFOL Marengo IA; KFOP Dallas TX; KFPB Seattle WA; WBBS (WKBT) New Orleans LA; WBBT Philadelphia PA; WBBU Monmouth IL; WBBV Johnstown PA; WBBW Norfolk VA; WBBY Charleston SC; WCBG Pascagoula MS lic portable (for revivals, or 3/6 on air)
Feb. 6, 1924. KFSG Los Angeles CA on air.
Feb. 6, 1924. Woodrow Wilson’s funeral is broadcast on at least WJAR, WCAP, and WEAF. It was estimated that at least three to four million receiving sets picked up the broadcast [Calvin Coolidge: Our First Radio President by Jerry L. Wallace]
Feb. 8, 1924. A speech in Chicago by John Joseph Carty, vice president of AT&T is said to be the first coast-to-coast radio hookup.
Feb. 12, 1924. The Eveready Hour is broadcast from WEAF to WCAP and WJAR under the sponsorship of the National Carbon Company. It is the first sponsored network radio program.
Feb. 12, 1924. A speech in New York by Calvin Coolidge is broadcast on five radio stations.
Feb. 15, 1924. WCBE (WDSU, WGSO, WQUE) New Orleans LA (or on air July 23, 1923)
Feb. 22, 1924. FIRST PRESIDENT TO BROADCAST FROM THE WHITE HOUSE was Calvin Coolidge, whose address on Washington’s Birthday, transmitted from his study in the White House was heard on 42 stations from coast to coast. (FFF)
Feb. 23, 1924. WBBZ (WKBF, WIRE, WXTZ, WCKN, WMYS) Indianapolis IN lic (RSB shows WKBF as a new station in Aug. 1926 but WKBF claims a link to WBBZ)
Feb. 24, 1924. WBBR (WPOW) Rossville NY
Feb. 28, 1924. WCBH Oxford MS nr lic (to Sept. '27)
Mar. 1924. KFPG (KMTR, KLAC) Los Angeles CA authorized [The station had an “official opening” on Nov. 4, 1925, with its new call letters KMTR and a new studio location. Information from Donna Halper and Jim Hilliker.]
Mar. 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFOO Salt Lake City UT (claims Dec. 1921); KFOQ Galveston TX; KFOT Wichita KS; KFOU Richmond CA; KFOV Sioux City IA; KFOX Omaha NE; KFOZ Fort Smith AR; KFPM Greenville TX (vol surrendered lic Apr. 2, 1935); WCBF Pittsburgh PA; WCBI Bemis TX; WCBJ Jennings LA; WCBK St. Petersburg FL; WCBL Moulton ME; WCBN Fort Benjamin Harrison IN; WCBO Memphis; WCBQ (WBAW, WTNT) Nashville TN; WDBF Youngstown OH
Mar. 3, 1924. KFOR David City (Lincoln) NE (or 3/4/27 on air Lincoln NE)
Mar. 5, 1924. KFON (KFOX, KFRN) Long Beach CA on air
Mar. 12, 1924. KFOY St. Paul MN lic (consolidated with WAMD to form KSTP, which was lic 3/20/28)
Mar. 20, 1924. WCBM Baltimore MD lic
Mar. 24, 1924. WGN (WEBH) Chicago IL on air 6 p.m.
Apr. 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFPH Salt Lake City UT; KFPL Dublin TX; KFPN Jefferson City MO; KFPP Olympia WA; KFPQ Denison TX; KFPR Los Angeles CA; KFPS Casper WY; KFPV San Francisco CA; KFPX Pine Bluff AR; WCBR Providence RI portable; WCBT (WCUW) Worcester MA ; WCBU Arnold PA; WCBV Tullahoma TN; WCBW Macon GA; WCBY Buck Hill Falls PA; WCBZ Chicago Heights IL; WDBA Columbus GA; WDBB (WAIT) Taunton MA; WDBD Martinsburg WV; WEBP New Orleans LA; WIAY Washington DC
Apr. 6, 1924. WDBT Hattiesburg MS on air (deleted 4/10/25)
Apr. 12, 1924. WLS Chicago IL formal dedication. [According to Prairie Farmer and WLS, Sears originally did a farm program beginning March 21, 1924, with its first assigned call letters, WBBX, from the studios of WMAQ. Its first test program from the Tower studio was on April 9 using the call WES [World’s Economy Store]. The next two evenings (April 10 & 11) they aired more test programs. On the evening of formal dedication Sears changed the call to WLS.]
Apr. 15, 1924. WHO Des Moines IA first use of call (or on air Apr. 10)
Apr. 17, 1924. KFPW Carterville (Sulphur Springs, Siloam Springs) MO
Apr. 23, 1924. KFPY (KXLY) Spokane WA lic (see KFDC earlier)
Apr. 27, 1924. New York Times reports WKAP Providence RI will go on May 4
May 1924. KZN changes its call to KFPT
May 1924. WGN changes its call to WEBH, and WDAP changes its call to WGN. [On May 31, 1924, the Chicago Tribune reported: "Enter a bigger and better W-G-N! Today the Chicago Tribune radio broadcasting station enters a new era in ether from the Drake hotel. The change follows the sale of the equipment at the Edgewater Beach station by Eugene F. McDonald Jr., president of the Zenith Radio corporation, to W. H. Dewey, manager of that hotel. The rearrangement, it is hoped, will go a long way toward clarifying the ether of interference and will be a move welcomed by the fans. The Tribune succeeds the Board of Trade in control of the station at the Drake hotel, hitherto known as WDAP. Those call letters passed into radio history last night, and beginning this morning the call letters at the Drake will be W-G-N.”]
May 1924. These new stations not otherwise mentioned on this page are authorized: KFQA St. Louis MO; KFQC Taft CA; KFQE Colorado Springs CO; KFQF Minneapolis MN; WDBE Atlanta GA; WDBN Bangor ME; WDBP Superior WI; WDBQ Salem NJ; WJAB Lincoln NE; WLBL Stevens Point WI; WRBC Valparaiso IN
May 1924. WDBK Cleveland OH is authorized. (This station moved to Akron and became WFJC, and then moved back to Cleveland and became WGAR. WGAR Cleveland OH made its official debut on Dec. 15, 1930, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The call stands for George A. Richards, an original owner. Info from Donna Halper.)
May 3, 1924. WDBH (WCTS, WTAG) Worcester MA on air. [According to the Boston Post WDBH went on the air May 3 and was maintaining a daily schedule. On May 11, the New York Times reported WDBH opened "last week.” According to the FCC microfiche files, the station was granted authority to operate by telegram on Apr. 30, pending action on its application, and the station was licensed on May 2. According to the Boston Globe the station was licensed during the week of May 12, and another source says the station was licensed on May 24. Call was changed to WTAG on Oct. 5, 1925, according to Donna Halper, consulting newspaper accounts at the time.]
May 5, 1924. WDBJ (WFIR) Roanoke VA lic (June 20 on air)
May 12, 1924. KFQB (KTAT, KSAT, KTAT, KFJZ) Fort Worth TX lic
May 13, 1924. First experimental use of 50 kw (WGY) but see another date
May 19, 1924. WDBO Winter Park FL lic (5/24 on air) 1250 50 watts
May 20, 1924. KFQD Anchorage lic (or May 17 on air)
May 22, 1924. WFBW (WMH, WKRC, WLWA, WCKY, WKRC) Cincinnati OH lic (or May 4 on air; second WMH) (New York Times 6/1/24 reports WFBW Cincinnati has opened 309 m)
May 22, 1924. WQJ Chicago IL on air [Chicago Tribune, Donna Halper]
May 31, 1924. WDBS (WSMK, WING) Dayton OH lic; claims start as 8XAX May 24 1921
June 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFPO Denver CO; KFQG Los Angeles CA; KFQH (KFOB) Hillsborough (Burlingame) CA; KFQI Culver City CA; KFQJ Oklahoma OK; KFQK Fayette MO; KFQL Muskogee OK; KFQM Austin TX; KFQN Portland OR; KFQO Russell KS; KFQR Oklahoma OK; KFQS Manitou CO; KFQT Denison TX; WCAY Milwaukee WI; WDBI St. Petersburg FL; WDBU Skowhegan ME; WDBV Fort Wayne IN; WDBW Columbia TN; WDBX (WOKO) New York NY (or June 14 on air); WDBY (WPPC) Chicago IL; WDBZ Kingston NY; WEBA Highland Park NJ; WEBD Anderson IN; WTL Chicago IL
June 8, 1924. WDBR (WSSH) Boston MA on air [lic in May; information from Donna Halper]
June 10, 1924. WKBF (WDWF, WDWF-WLSI) Cranston RI (merged: WFCI/WPAW/WPRO)
June 15, 1924. New York Times reports WKBF Providence RI will go on the air at 4:30 p.m. today
June 23, 1924. KFQP (KGFB) Iowa City IA on air. [David Carson writes, "Station was started by my father, George S. Carson, Jr., with call KFQP (assigned) and went on the air June 23, 1924, using a homebrew 10-watt modulated oscillator transmitter operating on 1340 kHz. My father was 17 years old at the time and still in high school. Sometime between 1926 and 1927, the station was sold to a local business man, Albert C. (Punch) Dunkel, and the call was changed to KGFB. Ultimately, the station license was canceled by the government, most likely because the transmitter would not meet upgraded frequency stability requirements.”]
June 24-July 9, 1924. 18 stations carry WEAF broadcasts of Democratic convention in New York with Graham McNamee and Phillips Carlin; GE and RCA coverage on WJZ by Major J. Andrew White and Norman Brokenshire. [About five minutes of the convention coverage exists from just before the 99th ballot during which President Roosevelt read a letter from Al Smith offering to withdraw his name if William McAdoo would do the same. Information from Todd Kosovich.]
June 27, 1924. WEBC Superior WI lic
July 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFQU Holy City CA; KFQW North Bend WA; KFQX Seattle WA; WEBI Salisbury MD; WFBB Eureka IL; WFBH (WPCH) New York (Richmond Hill, New York) NY
July 8, 1924. WEBE (WHIZ, WALR) Cambridge OH on air (Zanesville); WNYC New York NY on air 8:40 p.m. 526 m (570)
July 17, 1924. New York Times reports 2XBG Hotel Majestic to open 7/19 2 pm 273 m
Aug. 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFQY Belden NE; KFQZ Hollywood CA; WEBL United States portable
Aug. 1924. WJAZ is brought back to life as a portable station. [The Chicago dial was very crowded, so E. F. McDonald Jr., president of Zenith Radio Corp., figured going portable would be the best way to get the station back on the air and not cause interference to any one community. By early January 1925, after driving the truck to many cities and towns in greater Chicago, Zenith decided the right place for WJAZ was Mt. Prospect, where the company began to build new studios. Donna Halper, consulting the Chicago Tribune]
Aug. 19, 1924. WEBK (WOOD) Grand Rapids MI lic
Aug. 3, 1924. New York Times reports new station at Hotel McAlpin will be on air within 10 days 233m TL: Newark
Aug. 3, 1924. New York Times reports WLAG Minneapolis discontinued broadcasting its programs last Thursday and will be off until further notice. [Todd Kosovich writes, "WCCO history reports that WLAG signed off on July 31, 1924. However, the recording of the September 12, 1924 Pershing broadcast includes a litany of the stations carrying the broadcast which lists 'WLAG Minneapolis'. Resources at the Pavik Museum of Broadcasting reveal that WLAG came back on during the middle of September and stayed on until the new WCCO call letters were approved. The WCCO call was approved on October 1, 1924 and there was a special ceremony 'estinguishing' the old call and inaugurating the new at 8pm October 2nd.”]
Sept. 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFRB Beeville TX; KFRF Alexandria LA; KFRG St. Louis MO; KFRH Grafton ND; WEBO (WSRO) Hamilton OH; WEBQ Harrisburg IL (claims Sept. 1 1923 on air); WFBJ Collegeville MN
Sept. 9, 1924. WEBJ New York NY official opening (preliminary tests in July)
Sept. 12, 1924. National Defense Day 1-hr broadcast on WEAF with John J. Pershing, John W. Weeks, and others (the recording survives)
Sept. 18, 1924. WFBI (WCAM, WSSJ) Camden NJ lic City of Camden
Sept. 20, 1924. WAHG (WABC, WCBS) Richmond Hill NY lic
Sept. 24, 1924. KFRC San Francisco CA lic
Sept. 28, 1924. KFSY Helena MT on air, according to the Helena Independent [Donna Halper]
Sept. 30, 1924. WEBR (WNED) Buffalo NY lic (or Oct 14 on air)
Oct. 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFRI Denver CO; KFRJ Conway AR; KFRL Grand Forks ND; KFRM Fort Sill OK; KFRN Hanford CA; KFRO Fort Worth TX; KNX Los Angeles CA; WEBT Dayton OH; WEBU Deland FL; WEBX Nashville TN; WEBZ Savannah GA; WFBK Hanover NH; WFBN Bridgewater MA; WFBT Pitman NJ; WFBU Boston MA; WGBA Baltimore MD; WHA Madison WI; WSAB Cape Girardeau MO
Oct. 1, 1924. KFDM (KLVI) Beaumont, TX on air. Opening night featured a prayer by Rev. Frank Rhea and a dedication speech by Mayor J. Aurton Barnes, who praised the refinery for its public spiritedness. Then the announcer turned the program over to the "Oil Right Doctor," Dr. Harry Cloud, and the Magnolia Band [the KLVI website].
Oct. 2, 1924. WCCO Minneapolis MN on air (operating on the frequency of WLAG, which had recently gone dark)
Oct. 6, 1924. Third National Radio Conference held
Oct. 7, 1924. WEEI Boston MA lic Edison Electric Illuminating Co (9/29 on air)
Oct. 9, 1924. WEBW (WISJ) Beloit WI lic
Oct. 20, 1924. WFBL (WDCW) Syracuse NY lic (but ? WLAH changed to WFBL; WLAH Feb. 1922); WEBY Roslindale MA lic
Oct. 25, 1924. WFBQ (WRCO, WPTF) Raleigh NC lic (or 9/22/24 on air); WWJ broadcast by Ty Tyson of Michigan-Wisconsin football game (station claims is the first play-by-play sports broadcast from the scene)
Oct. 26, 1924. WGBS (WINS) New York NY on air 8 pm 316 meters
Oct. 27, 1924. WJJD (WSCR) Mooseheart (Chicago) IL on air [Source: Chicago Tribune]
Oct. 30, 1924. WFBG Altoona PA Wm F Gable Co on air
Nov. 1924. Band extended from 1350 to 1500, yielding 15 more Class A frequencies; These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFRQ Portland OR; KFRW Olympia WA; KFRX Pullman WA; KZKZ Manila PI; WFBC Knoxville TN; WLB Minneapolis MN
Nov. 1924. WCEE (WTAS, WLIB) near Elgin IL authorized (Jan. 1926 RSB states WCEE changed to WSWS, location changed to Wooddale IL)
Nov. 3, 1924. WFBR Baltimore MD lic
Nov. 4, 1924. WFBM (WNDE) Indianapolis IN on air
Nov. 6, 1924. The license of WECO New York NY is deleted.
Nov. 7, 1924. KFRP Redlands CA on air
Nov. 8, 1924. KFAB Lincoln NE lic
Nov. 11, 1924. WREO Lansing MI first official broadcast after several weeks of testing [Source: Hartford Courant, courtesy of Donna Halper]
Nov. 24, 1924. WGBC Memphis TN lic
Dec. 1924. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFCC Helena MT; KFRY State College NM; KFRZ Hartington NE; KFUJ Breckenridge MN; KFUL Galveston TX; KFUP Denver CO; KZRQ Manila PI; KZUY Manila PI; WFBD Philadelphia PA; WFBY Fort Benjamin Harrison IN; WFBZ Galesburg IL; WGBB Freeport NY; WGBG Thrifton VA; WGBT Greenville SC; WORD (WCHI) Batavia IL (2nd WCHI); WPG Atlantic City NJ (del Jan. 3 1940); WRAA Houston TX
Dec. 3, 1924. WFBE (WCPO, WUBE) Seymour IN (Cincinnati) lic
Dec. 5, 1924. WBCN Chicago IL on air [Chicago Tribune, Donna Halper]
Dec. 10, 1924. WRHF (WOL) Washington DC on air; KFUM (KVOR) Colorado Springs CO lic (or 9/2/22 ??)
Dec. 13, 1924. WGBB (WBAB, WGBB) Freeport NY lic
Dec. 14, 1924. KFUO St. Louis MO on air
Dec. 15, 1924. KOA Denver CO dedicatory program [Sources: Chicago Tribune, New York Times, info from Donna Halper. This station was licensed to General Electric Co. An earlier KOA Denver operated in 1922-23.]
Dec. 18, 1924. KFKU Lawrence KS lic (or Sept. 15 on air)
Dec. 20, 1924. KTHS (KAAY) Hot Springs AR on air
Dec. 25, 1924. KPPC Pasadena CA on air (goes off 4/19/96)
Dec. 30, 1924. WOCL (WJTN) Jamestown NY on air [Source: Jamestown Morning Post]
1925. WGN merges with WTAS and WCEE
Jan. 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFLP Cedar Rapids IA; KFUS Oakland CA; KFUT Salt Lake City UT; KFUU San Leandro CA; KFUV Springfield MO; KFUW Moberly MO; KFUY Butte MT; WBES (WSMD) Takoma Park (Salisbury) MD; WBRE (WBCR) Wilkes-Barre PA; WEAR Cleveland OH; WEBM United States portable; WGBH Fall River MA portable; WGBK Johnstown PA; WGBM Providence RI; WGBN LaSalle IL; WGBO San Juan PR; WGBQ Menomonie WI; WHBA Oil City PA; WHBB Stevens Point WI; WSRF Broadlands IL; WIL St. Louis MO on air
Jan. 3, 1925. KFUQ (KJBS, KFAX) San Francisco CA lic; WGBF (WWOK) Evansville IN on air (or 11/22/23 on air); WHBJ (WCWK, WGL) Fort Wayne IN on air (WGL claims 1/24/24)
Jan. 5, 1925. KFUR (KLO) Ogden UT lic
Jan. 12, 1925. WGBI Scranton PA on air
Jan. 14, 1925. KFRU Bristow OK temporary authorization; RSB has KFRU new in Sept. 1925 (KVOO Bristow claims descendancy from this station; claims Jan. 15 on air; KVOO Bristow OK temporary authorization granted 10/21/25; KVOO lic 7/19/26; KFRU call moved to Columbia MO (Stephens College) and a start date there is 10/7/25 on air); MR says the KFRU lic, freq, and equipment were all transferred to Stephens College and KVOO should be counted as a new station at Bristow
Jan. 15, 1925. WMBF Miami Beach FL formal opening [Source: Miami Herald, Jan. 16, 1925, Donna Halper]
Jan. 24, 1925. KDLR Devils Lake ND lic (1/25 on air)
Feb. 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFUZ Virginia MN; KFWA Ogden UT; KUOM Missoula MT; WAFD Port Huron MI; WGBR Marshfield WI; WGBW Spring Valley IL; WGBX Orono ME; WGBY New Lebanon OH; WHBD Bellefontaine OH; WHBE Sewickley PA; WHBH (WCMA) Culver IN; WHBI Chesaming MI; WHBK Ellworth ME
Feb. 3, 1925. Dept of Commerce announces changes in 80 class B stations (?)
Feb. 10, 1925. WTIC Hartford CT first official broadcast 7:45 p.m. [Hartford Courant, courtesy of Donna Halper]
Feb. 10, 1925. KFWC (KFXM, KRSO, KHTX) Upland CA on air (Ontario, Pomona, San Bernardino)
Feb. 13, 1925. WHBC Canton OH lic or 3/9/25 on air
Feb. 16, 1925. KFVF (KNRC, KTM, KEHE, KABC) Hollywood CA lic; WAMD Westcott MN lic (consolidated with KFOY to form KSTP, which was lic 3/20/28)
Feb. 20, 1925. WHBF Rock Island IL lic (but possible link to previous WTAP); WHBG (WMBS, WHP) Harrisburg (Lemoyne, Harrisburg) PA lic
Feb. 24, 1925. WKBE (WORC) Webster (Auburn) MA lic
Mar. 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFVC Camden AR; KFVH Manhattan KS; KFVI Houston TX; WGBL Elyria OH; WHAP Brooklyn NY; WHBM Chicago IL portable; WHBO Pawtucket RI; WHBR Cincinnati OH; WHBS Mechanicsburg OH; WHBT Downers Grove IL; WHBV Columbus GA; WHBW Philadelphia PA; WHBX Punxsutawney PA; WHEC Rochester NY; WIBC St. Petersburg FL (del Jan. 1926); WMCA New York NY; WSMH Owosso MI; WTHS Flint MI
Mar. 4, 1925. KFWB Los Angeles CA on air [date taken from an article in Radio Digest magazine 11/14/25 which stated that the date was the deadline given by Jack Warner for the station to be on the air. Information from Jim Hilliker and Donna Halper]
Mar. 4, 1925. An AT&T network of 21 stations broadcasts the inauguration of President Coolidge. The national audience was estimated at 22,800,000. [Calvin Coolidge: Our First Radio President by Jerry L. Wallace]
Mar. 5, 1925. WHBL Logansport IN (Sheboygan WI) lic
Mar. 6, 1925. WBOQ Richmond Hill NY
Mar. 11, 1925. WHBN (WRUF, Gainesville FL) St. Petersburg FL lic; WHBP (WJAC) Johnstown PA lic
Mar. 17, 1925. WHBQ Memphis TN lic (or Mar. 18 on air)
Mar. 13, 1925. WBDC (WASH) Grand Rapids MI on air 5:30 p.m. (later combined with WOOD)
Mar. 19, 1925. WENR Chicago IL on air E. N. Rauland
Mar. 20, 1925. WHBU Anderson IN lic (claims April 1923)
Mar. 23, 1925. WADC (WSLR) Akron OH lic
Mar. 24, 1925. WIBA Madison WI lic (Apr. 2 on air; or 1924)
Mar. 28, 1925. WHBY West De Pere WI lic
Mar. 31, 1925. WOWO Fort Wayne IN on air
Apr. 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFVE (KWK, KGLD, KASP, WKBQ, KRAM, WKBQ, WKXX, KKWK) St. Louis MO; KFVG Independence KS; KFVJ San Jose CA; KFVK Sacramento CA; KFVL Vancouver WA; KFVN Welcome (Fairmont) MN; KFVO (KFKZ) Kirksville (Colorado Springs) MO; KFWD Arkadelphia AR; KFWF St. Louis MO; WBAK Harrisburg PA; WFKB Chicago IL; WIBD Joliet IL; WIBE Martinsburg WV; WIBF Wheatland WI; WIBG Elkins Park PA; WIBH New Bedford MA; WIBO Chicago IL; WJBD Ashland WI; WMBB Chicago IL; WNAV (WNX) Knoxville TN; WODA Paterson NJ
Apr. 13, 1925. WDOD Chattanooga TN on air
Apr. 17, 1925. WJBC La Salle IL lic
Apr. 21, 1925. WSMB New Orleans LA on air 940 9 p.m.
Apr. 23, 1925. WSKC (WRDD, WBCM) Bay City MI lic
Apr. 25, 1925. WHT (WSOA, WCHI) Deerfield IL on air, 1500 watts [Washington Post, Donna Halper]
May 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFJC Junction City KS; KFVR (KOW) Denver CO; KFWH Chico CA; KTCL Seattle WA; WIBI (WGOP) Flushing NY; WIBJ Chicago IL; WIBK Toledo OH; WIBL Chicago IL portable
May 13, 1925. WNAB (WASN, WBIS) Boston MA on air
May 18, 1925. KPRC Houston TX lic
May 27, 1925. WBRC (WERC) Birmingham AL lic (or May 25 on air); KWKC (KCMO) Kansas City MO; KFVS (KGIR, KZIM) Cape Girardeau MO lic
June 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGTT (KGGC, KSAN, KSOL, KEST) San Francisco CA lic; WGBU Miami FL; KFVU Eureka CA; KFVX Bentonville AR; KFVY Albuquerque NM; KFWI South San Francisco CA; KWWG Brownsville TX; WEHS Evanston IL; WGMU Richmond Hill NY portable; WIBQ Farina IL; WIBR Weirton WV; WJBA Joliet IL; WKBG Chicago IL portable; WLTS Chicago IL; WSBC Chicago IL
June 3, 1925. KFVW (KFSD, KOGO, KKLQ) San Diego CA lic (or KFSD on air 3/26); WIBM (WXCM) Chicago IL (Jackson MI) lic portable
June 9, 1925. WJBI (WCLS, WJOL) Joliet IL on air, according to this web page
June 12, 1925. WRNY New York NY on air (Coytesville NJ)
June 13, 1925. KFVD (KPOP, KGBS, KTNQ) San Pedro CA first broadcast, according to Jim Hilliker (station was lic on Mar. 13, 1925)
June 19, 1925. WIBP Meridian MS on air (deleted 9/30/25)
June 24, 1925. WABC (WWNC) Asheville NC lic
June 29, 1925. WIBS (WHOM, WJIT) Elizabeth (Jersey City, New York) lic
July 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFWO Avalon CA; KFWP Brownsville TX; KFWU Pineville LA; KOIL Council Bluffs IA; KTAB (KSFO) Oakland CA Tenth Avenue Baptist Church; WIBT New York NY portable; WIBV Henderson NC; WRMU Richmond Hill NY
July 8, 1925. KFWM (KROW, KABL) Oakland CA lic; WIBU Poynette WI lic (July 10 on air)
July 24, 1925. WCSH (WYNZ) Portland ME lic (or Jul 13 on air); WIBW Logansport IN (Topeka KS?) lic
July 25, 1925. FIRST RADIO STATION OPERATING A 50-KILOWATT TRANSMITTER was 2XAG, Schenectady NY, using the 379.5 meter wave band, the same length as WGY. The station was tested July 25, 1925, and placed in operation July 29, 1925. (FFF)
July 29, 1925. WIBX Utica NY lic (Dec. 5 on air)
Aug. 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFWV Portland OR; KFXE Waterloo IA; WIBZ Montgomery AL; WLWL New York NY; WOCG Sycamore IL; WWGL (WMSG, WPUB, WMSG) Richmond Hill (New York) NY; WJBI (WBRB) Red Bank NJ
Aug. 1, 1925. KYA San Francisco CA on air (or 12/17/26 on air; new in RSB Dec. 1926)
Aug. 4, 1925. WCLO Camp Lake (Kenosha) WI lic
Aug. 5, 1925. KFWV (KWJJ) Portland OR lic (another source has KWJJ on air Jan. 17 1925)
Aug. 10, 1925. WRHM (WTCN, WWTC) Minneapolis MN lic Rosedale Hospital
Aug. 15, 1925. WJR Pontiac (Detroit) MI on air using the WJR call letters [Donna Halper, from contemporary newspaper accounts]
Aug. 20, 1925. WBZA Boston MA on air. (Donna Halper writes, “WBZ Springfield opened a Boston studio at the Hotel Brunswick, Boston, which debuted on 24 February 1924. It continued to be called ‘WBZ (Boston Studio)’ in the newspaper listings. Boston was 100 miles from Springfield and most of the talent was in Boston, not way out in Western Mass, hence the need for a Boston location. WBZ switched back and forth between the two, depending on which nights they had star talent from Boston to perform. Then, on 20 August 1925, WBZA made its official debut as a separate station with its own call letters. WBZA still sometimes did simulcasts of what was on the air in Springfield, but more and more, WBZ and WBZA were becoming two different stations.”)
Aug. 24, 1925. KFXB Big Bear Lake CA on air [Jim Hilliker] (to Los Angeles as KPLA in July 1927, to KECA on Nov. 15 1929, del 7/31/39)
Sept. 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFXH El Paso TX; KFXM Beaumont TX; NAA Arlington VA United States Navy; WDAD Nashville TN Dad’s Auto Accessories Inc.; WDCH Hanover NH Dartmouth College; WFRL Brooklyn NY; WKBB Joliet IL; WLTH New York NY on air; WRST (WINR) Bay Shore NY
Sept. 1925. WBNY (WAWZ) New York NY Shirley Katz; Jan. 1926 RSB has WKBK changed to WBNY
Sept. 1, 1925. KMA Shenandoah IA, on air 12 noon (tests broadcasts had begun Aug. 3)
Sept. 2, 1925. KFXC (KSMR, KERN) Santa Maria (Bakersfield) CA lic; KFXF (KHOW) Colorado Springs (Denver) CO lic
Sept. 3, 1925. WPRC (WCOD, WKBO) Harrisburg PA lic
Sept. 9, 1925. WBBZ Chicago IL portable lic
Sept. 11, 1925. WLAC Nashville TN lic
Sept. 12, 1925. KFXD Logan UT on air, 10 watts. [The owner was Leroy H. Strong, a local car dealer. He sold the station in late December 1926 to Frank E. Hurt (Service Radio Co.), who apparently moved the station to Jerome, Idaho, in 1927. In 1930 Hurt moved KFXD from Jerome to Nampa, Idaho. Most information from Donna L. Halper.]
Sept. 16, 1925. KFXJ (KREX) lic
Sept. 21, 1925. KTBR (KALE, KPOJ, KPOK, KUPL) Portland OR lic
Sept. 23, 1925. WJBL (WSOY) Decatur IL lic
Sept. 25, 1925. WJBG (WNRC, WBAM, WBIG) Charlotte (Greensboro) NC lic
Oct. 1925. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFAF San Jose CA; KFYF Oxnard CA; KFYJ Houston TX portable; KSO Clarinda IA; KTNT Muscatine IA; KUT Austin TX University of Texas; WJBN Sycamore IL; WPDQ (WKEN) Buffalo NY; WCWS (WCON) Providence RI (Danbury CT) U. S. portable
Oct. 3, 1925. WAGM (WEXL) Royal Oak MI lic (Magazines reported that it went on the air in late November or early December 1925.)
Oct. 7, 1925. WJBK (WDEE, WCZY, WLVQ) Ypsilanti (Detroit) MI lic
Oct. 10, 1925. WGHP (WXYZ, WXYT) Detroit MI on air, with 1500 watts [Dallas Morning News, Donna Halper]
Oct. 10, 1925. First use of crystal control (WGY)
Oct. 26, 1925. WSM Nashville TN lic (authorized by telegram 10/5)
Nov. 1, 1925. WMBC Detroit MI
Nov. 2, 1925. WBAL Baltimore MD on air (but lic 8/24/26)
Nov. 6, 1925. WJBQ or WJBU (WKOK) Lewisburg (Sunbury) PA
Nov. 9, 1925. Fourth radio conference
Nov. 9, 1925. WJBP (WSVS) Buffalo NY on air, according to this page
Nov. 11, 1925. WRVA Richmond VA lic or Nov. 2 on air; KFYR Bismarck ND lic (or Sept on air)
Nov. 16, 1925. WJBB (WSIS) St. Petersburg (Sarasota) FL inaugural broadcast as Financial Journal station, 7 p.m. (first listed in RSB of July 1, 1925, L. W. McClung 1450 kHz, 10 watts (del Sept. 1929)
Nov. 23, 1925. KPSN Pasadena CA on air
Nov. 25, 1925. WJAX Jacksonville FL on air (but lic 7/19/26)
Nov. 28, 1925. The WSM Barn Dance (later the Grand Ole Opry) premieres on WSM. The announcer is “Judge” George Hay. The WSM Barn Dance became a regularly-scheduled program in December 1925. [Information from Richard L. White. The Grand Ole Opry claims to be the world’s longest-running radio show. Other long-running programs are Music and the Spoken Word from the Crossroads of the West, which began on July 15, 1929, and Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, which began on Dec. 25, 1931, with a live broadcast of Hänsel und Gretel.]
Nov. 30, 1925. 2XAJ to WHAP New York NY on air 1250 kHz
Dec. 1925. KFH Wichita first use of call (different call previously)
Dec. 10, 1925. WGHB (WFHH, WFLA) Clearwater FL on air 10 p.m.; KFXY Flagstaff AZ on air
Dec. 24, 1925. KMOX Kirwood MO on air (but lic 10/23/26)
1926. WTAM buys WEAR for full-time on 770.7; WCBE (WDSU) joins NBC for 90 days, first network in Louisiana (no regular network till fall '27, WSMB-Red)
Jan. 1926. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KZIB Manila PI; WJBR Omro WI; KFYO Texarkana TX (Breckenridge)
Jan. 16, 1926. WMAL Washington DC on air [Source: an article in the Washington Post on Jan. 12, 1930, "WMAL to Observe Fourth Birthday.” On Jan. 17, 1926, the Post reported that WMAL was dedicated last night. Info from Donna Halper]
Feb. 3, 1926. WCOA Pensacola FL authorized (Feb on air; lic Aug. 24 1926)
Apr. 13, 1926. WNAC broadcasts a Boston Red Sox game; Donna Halper believes this may be the first live broadcast of a Red Sox home game
Apr. 16, 1926. Judge James H. Wilkerson sided with WJAZ Chicago on right to choose its frequency. (WJAZ was assigned only 2 hrs per week, on 930 khz, so in 1925 Eugene F. McDonald of Zenith decided to test Hoover’s dictums in court by moving WJAZ to 910 a Canadian clear channel)
July 1926. KG-- block begun, including: KGFJ, KGCX
July 1926. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGBU Ketchikan AK; KGBW Joplin MO; KRCA Los Angeles-San Francisco CA temporary; WCFT Tullahoma TN; WJBW New Orleans LA; WKBA Chicago IL; WKJC Lancaster PA; WMRJ Jamaica NY
July 3, 1926. KGAR (KTUC) Tucson AZ lic
July 8, 1926. Attorney General renders decision that Department of Commerce has no jurisdiction over radio frequencies
EXAMPLES OF CHANNEL HOPPING: WOBB Chicago reportedly moved to 540 khz, below lower boundary of 550; WHAP New York moved to 697, deciding there was enough room between WJZ-660 and WOR-740 for another Class B station; KFKB Milford KS began operating on 695 khz; KEX Portland 670 khz
July 13, 1926. WJBT Chicago IL lic
July 19, 1926. WIOD (WCKR, WIOD) Miami Beach FL lic (authority by telegram 7/9/26) (or 1/19/26 on air) first appears in RSB Jan. 1926
July 21, 1926. WCFL Chicago IL on air [Chicago Tribune, New York Times, which report station must share a wave length with WEAF, neither station happy about it. Info from Donna Halper]
July 27, 1926. WJBV (WSOM) Woodhaven NY lic (WEVD, WNYM perhaps successor to this station; WEVD on air May 1927)
July 28, 1926. WMBI Chicago IL on air Moody Bible Institute
Aug. 1926. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGBY Shelby NE; KGBZ York NE (del July 28 1936); KGCG Newark AR; KGCH Wayne NE; WBBC Brooklyn NY; WCBS Providence RI portable; WFCI (WPAW) Pawtucket RI Frank Crook Inc.; WGM Jeanette PA; WHFC Chicago IL Hotel Flanders; WJBX Osterville MA; WJBY Gadsden AL; WKBD (WAAT) Jersey City NJ (but see WOAX); WKBI Chicago IL; WKBJ St. Petersburg FL Gospel Tabernacle Inc.; WKDR Kenosha WI; WWRL Woodside NY; KGBX, KTTS St. Joseph (Springfield) MO (same lic as previous WEAK)
Aug. 1926. KGCA Decorah IA Charles W. Greenley (KWLC Decorah IA Norwegian Luther College was lic on Dec. 18 1926; perhaps the same station?)
Aug. 3, 1926. KFXR (KOCY) Oklahoma City OK lic (first in RSB Dec. 1925)
Aug. 6, 1926. KWKH Kennonwood (Shreveport) LA lic W K Henderson but first appears in RSB Sept. 1925; June 1 1925 RSB reports WGAQ changed to KWKH
Aug. 10, 1926. KMMJ Clay Center (Grand Island) NE lic
Aug. 11, 1926. WKBC (WSGN, WZZK) Birmingham AL lic
Aug. 15, 1926. WCRW Chicago IL on air [The date is from the Chicago Tribune, provided by Donna Halper. The licensee was Clinton R. White.]
Aug. 19, 1926. WAAT (WNTA, WJRZ, WWDJ) Newark NJ lic (FCC microfiche; Sept. 1926 RSB has WKBD changed to WAAT Jersey City)
Aug. 19, 1926. WCBS (WCVS) Springfield IL lic; WKBH (WIZM) Lacrosse WI lic; KGCB (KCRC) Oklahoma (Enid) OK lic; WBRS (WCOH, WFAS) Brooklyn (White Plains) NY lic (In Dec. 1927 WBRS Brooklyn NY consolidated with WCDA Cliffside NJ; but May 1928 WBRS Cliffside NJ changed to WCOH Greenville NY)
Aug. 24, 1926. KTUE (KXYZ) Houston TX lic Uhalt Electric
Aug. 25, 1926. KGCI (KMAC) San Antonio TX lic
Sept. 1926. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGCM San Antonio TX; KGCN Concordia KS; KGCU Mandan SD; KPJM Prescott AZ; WBRL Tilton NH; WKBL Monroe MI; WKBM Newburgh NY; WKBO Jersey City NJ
Sept. 1926. KGCR (KWTN, KWAT) Brookings SD authorized (The station moved to Watertown SD in 1929 or 1930.)
Sept. 3, 1926. KGCL (KPQ) Seattle WA lic
Sept. 18, 1926. WKBP (WELL, WKFR, WKNR) Battle Creek MI lic
Sept. 21, 1926. WJUG New York NY lic
Sept. 23, 1926. KSEI Pocatello ID on air
Sept. 25, 1926. WKBQ (WBNX) New York NY lic; WTRC (WTFF, WJSV, WTOP) Brooklyn NY (Alexandria VA, Washington DC) lic
Sept. 27, 1926. WKBV Brookville IN lic
Oct. 1926. KGDA Dell Rapids SD authorized; WBMS North Bergen NJ authorized
Oct. 28, 1926. WAGS (WLEX, WLEY, WLLH) Somerville (Lexington, Lowell) MA lic (owner of WAGS is J. Smith Dodge, later co-owner of Boston’s first TV station, W1XAY) [RSB Feb. 1929 has WBET Medford changes to WLEX and WLEX changes to WLEY]
Oct. 1926. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere authorized: WCGU (WARD) Lakewood NJ (Coney Island, Brooklyn NY) (later merged into WBYN and deleted); WDXL Detroit MI; WGWB Milwaukee WI; WKBN Youngstown OH; WKBR Auburn NY; WKBS Galesburg IL; WKBY Danville PA portable; WOBB Chicago IL; WOCB Orlando FL (apparently merged with WDBO)
Oct. 1926. WKBW (WWKB) Buffalo NY authorized (The RSB of Oct. 30, 1926, shows the licensee as Coatsworth & Diebold. The RSB of Nov. 30, 1926, shows the licensee as Churchill Evangelistic Association.)
Oct. 4, 1926. WEDC Chicago IL lic Emil Denemark Broadcasting Station
Oct. 5, 1926. KGCX Vida MT on air (EB: pop. 25) First State Bank of Vida
Oct. 10, 1926. KGDE Barrett MN on air
Nov. 1926. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere authorized: KGDI Seattle WA; KGDJ Cresco IA; KGDO Dallas TX; KGEA (KUJ) Seattle WA; WABF Kingston PA; WARS (WSGH) Brooklyn NY (in 1930 WSGH-WSDA changed to WFOX, later to WVFW); WHOG Huntington IN; WJBZ Chicago Heights IL; WKBZ Ludington (Muskegon) MI; WLBE Brooklyn NY; WLCI Ithaca NY Lutheran Association of Ithaca NY; WWPR Detroit MI; WEPS Gloucester MA (lic 6/1/27; later consolidated with WORC)
Nov. 1, 1926. KRSC (KAYO, KSPL, KGNW, KEZX, KSRB, KKNW) Seattle WA lic
Nov. 3, 1926. KRAC (KRMD, KMJI) Shreveport LA lic; KRLD Dallas TX lic
Nov. 8, 1926. WICC Bridgeport CT lic; WOMT Manitowoc WI lic; WLBC Muncie IN lic
Nov. 13, 1926. KGDM (KRAK) Stockton (Sacramento) CA lic (11/12 on air); WLBF (KCKN, KFKF, KNHN) Kansas City MO lic (Dec. 1926 on air) (went off in 1928, resurfaced in Kansas City KS)
Nov. 15, 1926. NBC debut with 24 stations (regular schedule begins Jan. 1927)
Nov. 16, 1926. WRES Wollaston MA formal opening, after several weeks of testing and a test broadcast on Nov. 9 [Donna Halper]
Nov. 22, 1926. WBKN (WCLB, WMIL, WCNW, WLIB) New York NY lic; WDWM (WCAP, WJLK) Newark (Asbury Park) NJ lic
Nov. 24, 1926. KVI Seattle WA lic first use of call
Nov. 27, 1926. KXL Portland OR lic
Dec. 1926. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KFCR (KDB) Santa Barbara CA; KGDR San Antonio TX; KGDW Humboldt NE; KGDX (KWEA) Shreveport LA (KWEA del Aug. 1 1936); KGDY Oldham (Huron) SD (del June 24 1938); KGDZ Decorah IA; KGEF Los Angeles CA; KGEH (KIOS, KOOS) Eugene OR; KROW Portland OR; WAOK Ozone Park NY; WBMC Woodside NY; WCOM Manchester NH; WGL New York NY (Secaucus NJ); WKBU New Castle PA portable; WLBA Philadelphia PA; WLBH (WPOE) Farmingdale (Patchogue) NY; WLBG Petersburg VA; WLBI East Wenona IL; WLBJ Cleveland OH; WLBO Galesburg IL; WLBQ Atwood IL; WLBR Belvidere IL; WLBT Crown Point IN; WLBU Cansatota NY; WLBV (WJW) Mansfield (Cleveland) OH; WLBW Oil City PA; WLBX Long Island City NY; WLBY Iron Mountain MI; WMBA Newport RI portable; WMVM Newark NJ; WOKT Rochester NY; WTRL Midland Park NJ; KMED Medford OR (same lic as previous KFAY)
Dec. 1926. WLBP Ashland OH [Robert A. Fox, alumnus of Ashland College, granted lic for 15 watt station; lacking financial backing, Fox donated transmitter to his alma mater; Ashland College applied for license, but FRC denied]
Dec. 1, 1926. KSOO Sioux Falls SD on air
Dec. 3, 1926. KUJ Walla Walla WA lic (see KGEA); KVOS (KGMI) Bellingham WA lic
Dec. 6, 1926. WWVA Wheeling WV lic; WPAB (WRCV, WIVA, WNEW, WGH) Norfolk VA lic; WRPI (WBOW) Terre Haute IN lic; WFKD (WTEL) Philadelphia PA granted 1200 for 12/6 to 3/5/27 [applicant had several authorizations in Oct. and Nov. to relay football games through WWAD; bough old WWAD equipment]
Dec. 6, 1926. WRRS (WRJN) Racine WI on air
Dec. 10, 1926. KWTC (KREG, KVOE, KWIZ) Santa Ana CA on air
Dec. 13, 1926. WLBN (KLRA, KHLT?, KBIS, KSYG) Chicago lic portable. (After the FRC said it would stop licensing portable stations, WLBN permanently moved to Little Rock AR according to the March 31, 1928 RSB. Shortly thereafter WLBN changed call letters to KLRA according to the June 30, 1928 RSB. Information from Thomas White.)
Dec. 14, 1926. WPEP Waukegan IL lic [The licensee was a local police officer Maurice Mayer.]
Dec. 16, 1926. WOW Omaha NE first use of call (or 4/2/23)
Dec. 17, 1926. WPSW (WPEN) Philadelphia PA lic; WMPC Lapeer MI lic Methodist Protestant Church
Dec. 18, 1926. WBET (WLEX, WAAB, WNCR, WFTQ, WVEI, WWTM) Boston (Medford, Worcester) MA lic: RSB Feb. 1929 has WBET Medford changed to WLEX, location changed to Lexington, WLEX changed to WLEY
Dec. 23, 1926. KEX Portland OR lic
Dec. 27, 1926. KKP Seattle WA
Dec. 30, 1926. WLBZ Dover ME lic (later call WZON or WACZ (?))
Dec. 31, 1926. KOMO Seattle WA on air, 3 p.m., according to a contemporary account in the Seattle Times. Information from Donna Halper. (According to Wikipedia, “In July 1926, KOMO was founded on Harbor Island as KGFA 980 by Birt F. Fisher, whose lease on Seattle radio station KTCL was about to run out, and the Fisher brothers of Fisher Flouring Mills (no relation), who had been on the island since 1911. In preparation for the switch to the new station, he changed KTCL’s call letters to KOMO. In December, his lease ended, and he took the call letters with him to KGFA. KOMO 980’s first broadcast was December 31, 1926.”
1927. The International Radiotelegraph Conference in Washington assigns remaining K calls to U. S.
Jan. 1927. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGEL Jamestown ND; KGEN (KXO, KGEN) El Centro CA; KGEQ Minneapolis MN; KGES Central City NE; KGEU Lower Lake CA; KGEW Fort Morgan CO; KGEX Muscatine IA; KGFF Alva OK; KROX Seattle WA; WBMH Detroit MI; WCOT Olneyville RI (Conn’s Olympia Theatre (del 1928); WFLA Boca Raton FL; WJPW (WEDH) Ashtabula OH (Erie PA); WMBE St. Paul MN; WMBJ Monessen PA; WMBK Hamilton OH; WMBL Lakeland FL (deleted May 1930); WMBM Memphis TN; WMBQ Brooklyn NY; WMBU Pittsburgh; WSEA Virginia Beach VA
Jan. 3, 1927. WMBD Peoria Heights IL lic (sign on was 2/14/27); KGEK (KSTC) Yuma CO lic
Jan. 6, 1927. WSIX Springfield (Nashville) TN lic
Jan. 7, 1927. WJAY (WCLE, WHKK, WHLO) Cleveland OH (Akron) formal opening [contemporary account in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Donna Halper]
Jan. 7, 1927. KGER Long Beach CA lic; WMBG (WTVR) Richmond VA lic
Jan. 10, 1927. KMIC (KMCS, KRKD, KIIS, KPRZ, KIIS, KXTA) Inglewood CA first broadcast, according to Jim Hilliker (the station was lic on Jan. 17; WMBH Chicago IL (Joplin MO) lic portable (later not portable)
Jan. 17, 1927. KGEY (KPOF) Denver CO lic (or KPOF 3/9/28); KPCB (KIRO) Seattle WA lic; KGRC (KONO) San Antonio TX lic; WMHA New York NY on air 8 p.m.; KMIC (KMCS, KRKD, KIIS, KPRZ, KIIS, KXTA) Inglewood CA lic
Jan. 24, 1927. WMBO Auburn NY lic
Jan. 26, 1927. KGEZ Kalispell MT lic
Jan. 28, 1927. WMBR Tampa (Jacksonville) FL lic
Jan. 29, 1927. WBSO (WORL) Wellesley Hills MA on air [Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, info from Donna Halper]
Jan. 29, 1927. KGFG (KTOK) Oklahoma City OK lic
Jan. 31, 1927. WNAB changes call to WASN (Air Shopping News); station is prototype for what we know today as home shopping. Unique for its time, it features an all-female staff-- Station Manager is Marion Smith, and one of the announcers, Grace Lawrence, will become a regular with the Yankee Network later on.
Feb. 1927. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGEO Grand Island NE; KGFM Yuba City CA; KGFN Aneta ND; KGFP Mitchell SD; KLIT (KORE) Portland (Eugene) OR; KOLO Durango CO; KWBS (KVEP) Portland OR; WALK Bethayres PA nr; WLBM Boston MA; WMBW Youngstown OH; WMBY Bloomington IL; WNBA Forest Park IL; WNBI Peru IL; WNBK Le Roy NY; WNBL Bloomington IL; WNBO Washington PA; WNBQ Rochester NY
Feb. 1927. KGFI Fort Stockton TX is authorized. KGFI in San Angelo TX went on the air on Dec. 4, 1928, according to the Dallas Morning News. Information from Donna Halper.
Feb. 2, 1927. KSCJ Sioux City IA lic Sioux City Journal
Feb. 4, 1927. KGA Spokane WA lic (claims 1926 start?); WCOC Columbus (Meridian) MS
Feb. 5, 1927. KGFJ (KKTT, KGFJ, KYPA) Los Angeles CA [This station used a flat-top antenna from its sign-on until Jan. 14, 2009, and it was believed to be the last full-time flat-top antenna in use in the U. S., according to an article by Marvin Collins in Radio World]
Feb. 7, 1927. WNBF Endicott (Binghamton) NY lic
Feb. 7, 1927. KGFH La Crescenta CA on air [Jim Hilliker confirms this on air date, from a newspaper article in the Glendale Evening News the following day. Hilliker reports Frederick Robinson moved KGFH from his home to the Hotel Glendale in Glendale in June 1928. KGFH was shut down by the FRC in May of 1929 and was refused renewal of its license.]
Feb. 11, 1927. Between 8 and 9 o'clock, KFI and 10 other Pacific coast stations presented an Interference Hour, following which pleas were made from each station in support of the radio bill before the senate
Feb. 12, 1927. KGFK (KDAL) Hallock MN (Minneapolis) lic; WNBJ (WROL, WRJZ) Knoxville TN lic; WFIW (WAVE) Hopkinsville (Louisville) lic
Feb. 12, 1927. KELW Burbank CA on air [date from the 2/14/27 Glendale Evening News and other contemporary newspaper accounts, provided by Jim Hilliker; station went off air 1/5/37]
Feb. 16, 1927. KGFL (KKAT, KCRX) Trinidad CO lic
Feb. 18, 1927. WNBR (WMPS) Memphis TN lic
Feb. 18, 1927. President Coolidge signs the Dill-White Radio Act of 1927, creating the Federal Radio Commission (or Feb. 23)
Feb. 19, 1927. KRLO (KEJK, KMPC, KTZN, KDIS) Los Angeles (Beverly Hills) CA on air
Mar. 16, 1927. Federal Radio Commission meets for first time (or March 5)
Apr. 1927. WREN Lawrence (Topeka, Kansas City) KS lic (June 15 1926 on air from Florence KS); FRC restricts portable licenses to 1470 and 1490
Apr. 26, 1927. FRC assigns New York City area stations new frequencies at least 20 kHz apart with sharing
Apr. 28, 1927. FRC sets 500 Hz frequency tolerance
May 1927. KGFO Los Angeles CA lic portable; WCDA Cliffside NJ lic
May 5, 1927. FRC sets 15 min interval for call letter announcements
May 8, 1927. WIBW on air ???? 1/31/28 RSB has WIBW Chicago port changed to Topeka)
May 24, 1927. FRC announces allocation changes, eff. June 1 (Roberts)
June 1927. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGFW Ravenna NE; WHPP New York NY (Englewood Cliffs NJ); WMES (WBBS) Boston MA; WNBW Carbondale PA; WNBX Springfield VT; WRK Hamilton OH
June 1, 1927. Effective date for allocation changes (Roberts)
June 11, 1927. The ceremony in Washington welcoming Col. Charles Lindbergh after his historic flight is broadcast by NBC.
June 15, 1927. Effective date for some allocations; 50 kHz separation in NYC
Aug. 1927. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGGF Picher OK; WJKS Gary IN; WKBJ Toccoa GA; WOBR Shelby OH; WOBT Union City TN; WTHS Athens GA; KGGM (KRKE, KZSS) Inglewood CA (Albuquerque NM) portable lic
Aug. 4, 1927. FIRST RADIO STATION OPERATING A 100-KILOWATT TRANSMITTER was 2XAG, Schenectady NY, which was granted a 30-day permit to operate between the hours of 1 and 2 a.m. It went on the air August 4, 1927. Harry Hadenwater was in charge of broadcasting. (FFF)
Aug. 15, 1927. WFHH changes call to WFLA (820); KLCN Blytheville AR lic (claims 1921); KGGH (KSTL, WTSL, WAML) Cedar Grove LA (Shreveport LA) lic (moved to Laurel MS in 10/9/31 and became WTSL); KXRO Seattle WA lic (first in RSB Oct. 1926); KGFX Pierre SD lic (claims June 1916 as 9ZP)
Sept. 1927. KGHB Honolulu HI lic
Sept. 18, 1927. Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System goes on air with 16 stations, first program, Howard Barlow and orchestra playing "Tales from the Vienna Woods" (takes over UIB network, begun 1/27/27)
Oct. 1927. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGDP Pueblo CO; KGHC Slayton MS; KGHF Pueblo CO; KGHP Hardin MT; WQBA Tampa FL (deleted May 1928)
Oct. 12, 1927. WOBU (WCHS) Charleston WV on air 7 p.m. 1120 kHz
Oct. 14, 1927. WNBZ Saranac Lake NY lic (Sept. 11 1927 on air)
Oct. 15, 1927. FIRST INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING LICENSE issued by the FCC was granted October 15, 1927, to the Experimenter Publishing Co., New York City. 9.7 MHz, 500 watts. The station was taken over in 1929 and subsequently moved to Boston, where it was operated as W1XAL by the World Wide Broadcasting Corporation. (FFF)
Oct. 24, 1927. WQBC Utica (Vicksburg) MS
Nov. 1927. KHAC Airplane unnamed San Francisco CA authorized; WQBJ Clarksburg WV authorized
Nov. 1, 1927. WSUN St. Petersburg FL on air 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 1, 1927. Effective date: 600-1000 kHz clear; 25 stations on new freq by this date; 10 stations off by Dec. 31 (announced 11/14) (this was a modification of 6-month old plan, affected 10% of stations)
Dec. 16, 1927. WRSC (WLOE) Chelsea MA on air [The station was actually authorized in December 1926. It was taken off the air by the FRC in 1933. However, on Oct. 18, 1934, WMEX signed on the air with the same facility and a new company name. Info from Donna Halper]
Early 1928. FRC proposes 164 stations be deleted (hearing, 7/9/28; 83 deleted; see Nov. 11)
Jan. 1, 1928. KVL Seattle WA first use of call (or KGBS changed to KVL changed to KEEN changed to KEVR changed to KING); Jul 1926 RSB has KGBS Seattle WA new
Feb. 1928. WSUF changes to WPOR Norfolk VA; KGHA Pueblo CO authorized; WQBZ Weirton WV authorized
Feb. 3, 1928. KGHF (KKAM, KIDN) Pubelo CO lic
Feb. 18, 1928. WGCM (WTAM) Gulfport MS lic (was to be WQBO)
Mar. 1928. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGHD Missoula MT; KGHG McGehee AR; KGHO Fort Stockton TX; KGHX (KTIP, KTLC) Richmond (Houston) TX; KGKO Wichita Falls TX; WRBH Manchester NH; WRBI (WJTL, WATL, WAOK) Tifton (Atlanta) GA; WRBQ (WKFI) Greenville MS; WRBU Gastonia SC; WRBX Richmond VA; WRBW Columbia SC
Mar. 1928. WRBT (WRAM) Wilmington NC authorized [In Feb. 1934 new owners moved the station to Durham and changed the call to WDNC, according to the WDNC Wikipedia article.]
Mar. 20, 1928. KSTP St. Paul MN lic. Station was a consolidation of WAMD and KFOY. According to the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, KSTP formally opened with its new owners on 29 March 1928. Main studios were in St. Paul, but a smaller studio was maintained in Minneapolis. When it opened, Corinne Jordan was Program Director, a position she held throughout the 1930s and into the early 40s, which was very unusual for women in those days [Donna Halper].
Mar. 28, 1928. Congress extends authority of FRC for one year, license period set at 3 months, requires FRC to make an equal allocation of licenses to each of the five zones and states according to population
Apr. 1928. WENR consolidated with WBCN Chicago
May 1, 1928. KXA Seattle WA on air
May 11, 1928. FRC issues General Order 32, targeting 164 stations failing to meet new public standard (hearings would be held July 9 with stations to be deleted by Aug. 1; most survived)
May 11, 1928. WRBJ (WPFB, WFOR) Hattiesburg MS lic
May 19, 1928. KGHI (KAJI, KALO, KLAZ, KOKY) Little Rock AR lic
May 22, 1928. WRBL (WRCG) Columbus GA lic (or May 10 on air); KGKB (KDOK) Goldthwaite (Brownwood, Tyler) TX lic; KGHL Billings MT lic
Mid 1928. A jump to the W-D- block including: WHDH, WRDW
June 25, 1928. KGKL Georgetown (San Angelo) TX lic
July 6, 1928. KGJF (KARK, KARN) Little Rock AR lic
Aug. 1928. KGIF portable NE portable
Aug. 1928. The FRC cites WCRW Chicago for playing too much recorded music and reduces the station’s power from 500 to 100 watts. [Live music was considered preferable then. Chicago Tribune, Donna Halper.]
Aug. 30, 1928. General Order 40 describes changes in effect Nov. 11 1928
Sept. 1928. WOV Secaucus NJ
Sept. 12, 1928. WTBQ (WILM) Wilmington DE
Sept. 13, 1928. KOH Reno lic or lic Oct. 25
Oct. 1928. KMOX Kirkwood MO add call signal KFQA; WTFF changes call to WJSV Mt. Vernon Hills VA (to WTOP 1943)
Nov. 1928. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGIW Trinidad CO; KGKX Sandpoint ID; KPWF Westminster/Santa Ana CA; WMBJ Wilkinsburg/Pentownship PA
Nov. 11, 1928. Changes in effect 3 a.m.: 600 of 630 stations change; clear, local, regional channels; KGIO (KID) Idaho Falls lic; KGIQ (KTFI, KTLC) Twin Falls lic; KXO first use of call El Centro CA (lic 1/7/27 as KXO, then to KGEN on 9/8/27, then back to KXO 1/11/28)
Late 1928. WABC and WBOQ (WCBS) merge into one station with dual calls
Dec. 1928. CBS acquires WABC; KOOS Marshfield OR authorized; KYWA Chicago IL authorized; WHDL Tupper Lake NY authorized
Dec. 10, 1928. WTBO Cumberland MD
Dec. 22, 1928. WMMN Fairmont WV on air
Dec. 23, 1928. NBC sets up a permanent coast-to-coast radio network
Jan. 17, 1929. KGIR (KXLF) Butte MT lic
Mar. 22, 1929. KIT Yakima Wash first use of call (4/9/29 on air 6 pm 1370)
Mar. 1929. KGIX Las Vegas NV authorized
May 1929. WGSP Savannah GA authorized; WJDX Jackson MS authorized; WJDW (WEHC) Emory VA authorized
May 27, 1929. KVOA (KCUB) Tucson AZ lic (was to be KGHZ)
June 15, 1929. WOPI Bristol TN on air
June 17, 1929. WHDH Gloucester (Boston) MA lic
June 24, 1929. WHIS Bluefield WV on air [Charleston Daily Mail contemporary article]
July 1929. KLPM Minot ND
Aug. 19, 1929. Amos 'n' Andy debuts on NBC radio
Aug. 22, 1929. KTSM El Paso TX on air (was to be KGKF)
Aug. 29, 1929. KDFN (KTWO) Casper WY or 1/2/30 on air
Sept. 16, 1929. WCKY (WSAI) Harrison OH (Covington KY, Cincinnati OH)
Oct. 12, 1929. WSGP (WTOC) Savannah GA lic (probably started as WTOC)
Nov. 1929. KGKY Scottsbluff NE authorized; WFDW Talladega AL authorized
Nov. 29, 1929. NBC begins use of the chimes
Dec. 1929. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGMB Honolulu HA; KGMC Jerome AZ; KGMD Roswell NM; WFDV(WRGA) Rome GA
Jan. 1930. These new stations not mentioned elsewhere are authorized: KGMP Elk City OK; WCLB Long Beach NY; WCSC Charleston SC; WRDA Orchard Park NY (studio: Buffalo); WSPA Spartanburg SC; WQDM St. Albans VT (in 1941 WQDM lic rescinded, and facilities granted to new company (WDEV, Waterbury, Vt.) to operate new station in same locality under call letters WWSR)
Feb. 1930. KGIZ Grant City MO authorized; WBTM Danville VA authorized; WLVA Lynchburg VA authorized
Feb. 8, 1930. WODX (WALA, WUNI, WMML, WLVV, WNGL) Springhill AL (studio: Mobile) lic. [According to the Wikipedia article, the station went on the air on Feb. 7, 1930.]
Feb. 15, 1930. WSPA Spartanburg SC auth operation by telegram; lic 3/14/30;
Mar. 1930. KGNF North Platte NE authorized; WRBX Roanoke VA authorized
Mar. 24, 1930. KBTM Paragould (Jonesboro) AR lic (was to be KGKZ)
Apr. 1930. WBGF Glen Falls NY authorized; WQDV (WDIX) Tupelo MS authorized; WQDX (WPAX) Thomasville GA (lic 6/9/30) authorized; WDIX Tupelo MS (Texarkana AR) on air 1500 100w
Apr. 8, 1930. WSFA (WHHY) Montgomery AL lic
Apr. 17, 1930. WSJS Winston-Salem NC on air 7:15 p.m.
May 1930. KMLB Monroe LA authorized; WRDO Augusta ME authorized; WRDW Augusta GA authorized
June 1930. WPAD Paducah KY authorized
June 13, 1930. KGNO Dodge City KS lic
June 25, 1930. WIS Columbia SC lic (CP granted 11-14-29, with the call WGTB, which was probably never used) The WIS call was issued on Jan. 23, 1930, the last three-letter call issued, except for reassignments of calls that had been used earlier by related stations, such as WJZ-TV Baltimore, Md (August 5, 1957), KUT-FM Austin, TX (August 21, 1958), WJW (TV) Cleveland, OH (June 11, 1985), and KRE-FM (1972), and WGH (1984) [Thomas White].
Sept. 30, 1930. Lowell Thomas first radio network news broadcast
Nov. 1930. WSYB Rutland VT authorized
Nov. 17, 1930. Rulings on frequencies
Early 1931. A jump to the W-E- block including: WDEV, WEEU, WFEA
Mar. 17, 1931. KGVO Missoula MT lic
July 7, 1931. WWSW Pittsburgh PA lic William S. Walker (On 8/25/30 Application for new station in Pittsburgh on 1500kc with 100 watts, using the equipment of WMBJ because the renewal of the license of WMBJ was denied. On 1/23/31 Granted C.P for 1500kc, 100 watts.)
Oct. 1931. FRC orders WIBO and WPCC Chicago off air, assigns 560 kHz to WJKS Gary (WPCC earlier was WDBY)
Oct. 15, 1931. Broadcasting reports FRC grants 50 kw to 9 stations, making total of 23 of 40 clear channel stations now authorized 50 kw
1932. WHN merges with WOAO WPAP WRNY
Mar. 24, 1932. WABC broadcasts a variety program from a moving train in MD
May 2, 1932. Jack Benny first radio show, NBC Blue
May 9, 1932. WFLA-WSUN Clearwater FL begins testing the first directional antenna in the U. S. designed by Raymond Wilmotte. [The antenna, consisting of two towers spaced a quarter wave apart, was installed at Bayview, Florida. An appeals court had ruled that the earlier coverage area of co-channel WTMJ Milwaukee should be restored, and the WFLA-WSUN DA system was installed to avoid a power reduction.]
May 9, 1932. WOC merges with WHO
Early 1932. KI-- block begun, including KIEV
June 7, 1922. FCC issues a construction permit for WLW to operate with 500,000 watts using the call W8XO
Oct. 4, 1932. WMAS Springfield MA lic (was to be WHEU)
Feb. 12, 1933. KIEV Glendale CA on air
Mar. 12, 1933. President Roosevelt delivers the first radio Fireside Chat
Sept. 25, 1933. Amalgamated Broadcasting System (Ed Wynn) goes on the air; inaugural broadcast features Norman Brokenshire, Vaugn DeLeath, Fiorello Laguardia (goes off 10/29/33)
Oct. 1, 1933. Broadcasting reports stations file for 50 kw as FRC lifts limit from 4 to 8 per zone, or from 20 to 40 for U. S.
Oct. 14, 1933. WSOC Charlotte NC on air (was WRBU WSOC Gastonia in '29 or earlier)
Nov. 15, 1933. Broadcasting reports WGN, WBZ and WHAM are first to get 50 kw under revised regulation
Nov. 20, 1933. WFAN Philadelphia deleted and merged into WIP
Dec. 17, 1933. The San Antonio Express reports that H. C. Allison was fined $250 for operating an unlicensed radio station. [Henry Clay Allison was a chiropractor and used the call letters KYRO; program listings for the station appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1933. At his trial, the government charged that the station’s transmission interfered with stations in Kansas City and Nebraska.]
Dec. 19, 1933. FRC authorizes 1530, 1550, and 1570 kHz for high-fidelity broadcasting (Mark Roberts).
Jan. 15, 1934. Broadcasting reports WLW starts tests of new 500 kw transmitter
Feb. 13, 1934. WNEW New York NY on air (consolidation of WODA, WAAM)
Apr. 4-5, 1934. FRC holds hearings on the six high-fidelity applications:
Unity School of Christianity, Kansas City, 1530 kHz, 1000 wattsTwo weeks later, the Commission approved all except the Unity and Los Angeles applications. Additional applications were subsequently filed by two applicants seeking to build a station in the Boston area: the General Television Corp., and D.E. Replogle, a consulting engineer from Ridgewood, New Jersey. Neither application made it on the air. (Mark Roberts)
American-Republican, Inc., Waterbury, Conn., 1530 kHz, 1000 watts
First National Television, Inc., Kansas City, 1530 kHz, 1000 watts
John V. L. Hogan, Long Island City, New York, 1550 kHz, 1000 watts
Pioneer Mercantile Co., Bakersfield, California, 1550 kHz, 1000 watts
Fred W. Christian, Jr., and Raleigh W. Whiston, Los Angeles, 1570 kHz, 1000 wattsMay 2, 1934. WLW begins full time operation with 500 kw [Note: According to FFF, from June 12, 1936, to May 1, 1938, KDKA was authorized to test high-power equipment (50 kw to 500 kw) using the call W8XAR, from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. on an experimental basis.]
May 25, 1934. FRC assigns call letters to the four approved high fidelity stations: W1XBS, American-Republican, Waterbury, Connecticut; W9XBY, First National Television, Inc., Kansas City; W6XAI, Pioneer Mercantile Co., Bakersfield, California; W2XR, John V. L. Hogan, Long Island City, New York (Mark Roberts).
[Note: W1XBS (WBRY, WQQW) Waterbury/New Haven CT went dark in 1992; W2XR became WQXR with a start date of 1934 or 12/3/36]
Sept. 15, 1934. The Mutual Broadcasting System is formed
Nov. 1, 1934. Broadcasting reports: After years of legal battles to protect its place in Chicago, Westinghouse moves KYW, the city’s first radio station, to Philadelphia to comply with governmental quota technicalities
Nov. 11, 1934. WOC splits from WHO, becomes KICK
Dec. 31, 1934. W9XBY (KXBY, KITE, KXKX) Kansas City MO on air 1530 kHz high fidelity (goes silent Oct. 8 1942)
1935. FCC allows broadcast stations to re-broadcast their signals on the 10-meter shortwave band.
Feb. 12, 1935. W6XAI (KPMC) Bakersfield (Los Angeles) CA lic 1550
Mar. 4, 1935. President Roosevelt turns on WOR’s 50 kw (directional)
July 15, 1935. WNBC (WHTD, WONS, WGTH, WPOP) New Britain (Hartford) CT on air (was to be WMFE)
Mar. 27, 1936. WOS Jefferson City MO voluntarily relinquishes facilities to KFRU
Nov. 10, 1936. WEHS Cicero IL and WKBI Cicero IL voluntarily relinquish facilities to WHFC
Jan. 15, 1937. KELW Burbank CA licensee voluntarily relinquishes facilities to KEHE
Feb. 2, 1937. KFJR Portland OR voluntarily relinquishes facilities to KALE
Feb. 4, 1938. FIRST RADIO FACSIMILE BROADCASTING ON THE REGULAR BROADCAST BAND was instituted February 4, 1938, by WHO (Central Broadcasting Co.), Des Moines, Iowa. The facsimile was on 1,000 kilocycles from 12:00 midnight to 12:36 a.m. (FFF)
May 11, 1938. WRAX Philadelphia PA surrenders hours of operation to WPEN
June 24, 1938. WMBQ Brooklyn NY del, facilities given to WWRL
Oct. 30, 1938. War of the Worlds broadcast on CBS; WIBC Indianapolis IN on air 8 a.m. (officially on air next day)
Sept. 1938. WSLI Jackson MS on air (Standard Life Insurance)
Nov. 7, 1938. WFAB New York NY del (licensee, Debs Memorial Radio Fund, surrenders hours of operation to WEVD)
Mar. 1, 1939. WLW ends 500 KW operation, except 12 to 5 a.m. as W8XO till '43
July 31, 1939. KECA Los Angeles CA consolidated facilities with KEHE Los Angeles
Jan. 3, 1940. WBIL New York NY deleted
Feb. 1, 1941. FCC announces frequency changes eff 3/29
Mar. 29, 1941. In accordance with the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement, 802 of 893 (or 795 of 883) AM stations shift frequency at 3 a.m. New York time and the band is extended to 1600 KHz. The treaty created Canadian and Mexican clear channel frequencies.
The most significant changes (courtesy of Scott Fybush):
540: new Canadian clearMay 1, 1941. WBBC, Brooklyn Broadcasting Corp.; WLTH, Voice of Brooklyn, Inc.; WVFW, Paramount Broadcasting Corp.; WARD, United States Broadcasting Corp., all of Brooklyn, consolidated under call letters WBYN and license issued to United Broadcasting Corp., Brooklyn
old 550-680: unchanged
old 690: mostly unchanged, except CFRB to 860
old 700-730: unchanged
740: new Canadian clear
old 740-780: moved up 10 kHz to 750-790
800: new Canadian clear
old 790-830: moved up 20 kHz to 810-850
860: new Canadian clear
old 850-870: moved up 20 kHz to 870-89
900: new Canadian clear
old 880-970: moved up 30 kHz to 910-1000
1010: new Canadian clear
old 980: KDKA to 1020
old 990: WBZ to 1030
old 1000: WHO to 1040
old 1010: KQW [KCBS] to 740 (but not right away)
old 1020: KYW to 1060
old 1030: CFCN to 1010, CKLW to 800
old 1040: WTIC, KRLD, KWJJ all to 1080
old 1050: to 1070
old 1060: WBAL to 1090, WJAG to 1110 (later traded for 780 with KFAB)
old 1070-1150: moved up 30 kHz to 1100-1180
old 1160: WOWO to 1190, WWVA to 1170
old 1170: WCAU [WGMP] to 1210
old 1180: KEX to 1190, KOB [KKOB] to 770, WDGY [KFAN] to 1130, WINS to 1010
old 1190: WOAI to 1200, WSAZ to 930, WATR to 1320
old 1200-1450: moved up 30 kHz to 1230-1480
old 1460: KSTP, WSJV [WTOP] to 1500
old 1470: KGA, WLAC, WMEX [WNRB] to 1510
old 1480: KOMA, WKBW [WWKB] to 1520
old 1490: KFBK, WCKY [WSAI] to 1530
old 1500: to 1490
old 1510: CFRC to 1490
old 1530: W1XBS to WBRY [WQQW;dark] 1590, W9XBY to KITE [dark] 1550
old 1550: W2XR to WQXR [WQEW] 1560, W6XAI to KPMC [KNZR] 1560
1580: new Canadian clearDec. 1, 1941. WNEW and WOV switch frequencies
Oct. 12, 1943. Blue Network becomes American Broadcasting Company (ABC) [However, a newspaper advertisement on June 15, 1945, announces the name change becomes official tonight.]
Jan. 2, 1944. New York Times reports: "WJZ’s new transmitter outside of Lodi, N. J., will be placed in operation at 6 P. M. today. If the hopes of engineers materialize, listeners in New York City should notice an appreciable increase in signal strength.”
Nov. 2, 1946. WABC changes its call to WCBS, at 10 p.m.
Nov. 6, 1946. WEAF changes call to WNBC at 6 p.m.
May 1, 1953. WJZ changes call to WABC
Sept. 16, 1953. Conelrad tested nationally
Oct. 17, 1954. WNBC to WRCA AM, FM, TV, at midnight; KNBH(TV) to KRCA(TV), WNBW(TV) to WRC-TV
Nov. 17, 1954. Conelrad tested nationwide 2 to 5 a.m.
June 12, 1955. Monitor premieres on the NBC radio network.
June 1, 1960. WRCA changes call to WNBC
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