Since 2012, February 13 has been celebrated by Unesco as World
Radio Day. The date was chosen as United Nations Radio was launched on February 13, 1946.
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| A Fisher 500 AM/FM hi-fi receiver from 1959. |
World Radio Day 2020 is around the theme of "Radio and diversity." UNESCO and UN calls on radio stations to uphold diversity, both in their newsroom and on the airwaves.
Radio is the transmission and reception of radio waves. When radio signals are sent out to many receivers at the same time, it is called a
broadcast.
In 1906 American inventor Lee de Forest invented the three-element "Audion" (triode) vacuum tube, the first practical amplification device. The tube represented the foundation of the field of electronics, making possible radio broadcasting. The first public radio broadcast took place on January 13, 1910 when De Forest transmitted the voices of Metropolitan Opera stars to several receivers in New York City.
The first transistor radio, the Regency TR-1, was announced on October 18, 1954. Two companies working together, Texas Instruments of Dallas, Texas and Industrial Development Engineering Associates (I.D.E.A.) of Indianapolis, Indiana, were behind its unveiling. The Regency TR-1 was put on sale in November 1954, and was the first practical transistor radio made in any significant numbers.
