Tech History Made on December 24, 1906

On December 24th, 1906 the first audio radio broadcast was produced. Reginald Fessenden used an alternator transmitter to broadcast a program between his stations in Brant Rock, Massachusetts and Machrihanish, Scotland. The program consisted of him singing O Holy Night and reading from the Bible. All this was done by Fessenden taking a basic electric alternator and speeding it up in order to produce a steady wave. This in turn produced a continuous radio signal when connected to an aerial. Then he placed a carbon microphone in the transmission line so that sounds could be added to the transmission. It took many years and a lot of money (GE's money) to develop the prototype.