1926 in radio

The year 1926 saw a number of significant happenings in radio broadcasting history.

Events

• 1 January – 2RN, the first radio broadcasting station in the Irish Free State, goes on air.^[1]
• 16 January – A British Broadcasting Company radio play by Ronald Knox about workers' revolution in London causes a panic among those who have not heard the preliminary announcement that it is a satire on broadcasting.^[2]
• 25/26 February – A majority share in German national broadcaster Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft is taken by the state-owned Reichspost authority.^[3]
• 18 April – The Polskie Radio company begins regular broadcasts from Warsaw, Poland.
• 4 May – The British Broadcasting Company broadcasts five news bulletins a day as no newspapers are being published due to the 1926 United Kingdom general strike.
• 6 May – First radio broadcast of a complete opera – Attilio Parelli's I dispettosi amanti – by the Milan station of the Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI).
• 15 May
  • American Telephone & Telegraph establishes the Broadcasting Company of America; containing WCAP in Washington, D.C., WEAF in New York, and the mini-network between both stations.
  • Radio Zagreb, the first radio station in southeastern Europe, begins broadcasting.
• 29 May
  • The Finnish national broadcasting company Yleisradio is founded.
  • VPRO (the Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep) is established in the Netherlands.
• 12 June – Radio Kaunas begins regular broadcasting in Lithuania.
• 1 July – American Telephone & Telegraph exits the station ownership realm, selling off WEAF, WCAP, and their mini-network, to RCA. The latter station is merged into time-share WRC (AM) and takes the latter stations' callsign.
• 13 September – Formation of the National Broadcasting Company by RCA is announced in newspaper advertisements around the country.
• 7 October – The British Broadcasting Company begins broadcasting a weekly service of Choral Evensong, with the first recorded service being held in Westminster Abbey. As of 2018, Choral Evensong has been running for 92 years, making it the longest-running regular outside broadcast.
• 10 November – Unión Radio takes over station EAJ-1 Radio Barcelona, laying the foundation for the creation of Spain's first national radio network.
• 14 November – The first Geneva Frequency Plan comes into force, halving the number of medium wave frequencies available to countries in Europe.^[4]
• 18 December – Regular radio broadcasting begins in Estonia.
• 24 December – The first singing jingle commercial is heard on WCCO, Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[5]

Debuts

• 12 January – Sam 'n' Henry debuts on WGN in Chicago, Illinois.^[5] Two years later, the creators of the show, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, leave and start the similar show Amos 'n' Andy.
• 26 February – 1150 AM returns to the air, this time as WJBO in New Orleans.
• 1 November – Radio Belgique (1924–30) broadcasts the first edition of Le Journal Parlé: "All the world's and all the day's news in thirty minutes".^[6]
• 15 November – The National Broadcasting Company commences operations on what will later become the NBC Red Network, composed of AT&T's WEAF-WCAP mini-network.
• 24 November – KVI in Tacoma, Washington, signs on the air for the first time.
• 13 December – WWVA at Wheeling, West Virginia signs on at 2A.M. from owner John Stroebel's residence.
• 23 December – KEX in Portland, Oregon begins broadcasting.

Births

• 22 February – Kenneth Williams, English comic actor (died 1988)
• 9 March – Joe Franklin, American broadcast media personality (died 2015)
• 19 May – David Jacobs, British broadcast presenter (died 2013)
• 23 May – Desmond Carrington, English disc jockey and actor (died 2017)
• 22 June – Ray Szmanda, American radio and television announcer (died 2018)
• 27 August – Pat Coombs, English comic stooge (died 2002)
• 12 September – Peter Dixon "Dix" Davis, American radio and film actor (died 2024)^[7][8][9]
• 30 September – Dave Hunt, American Christian apologist and radio commentator (died 2013)
• 31 October – Jimmy Savile, English disc jockey, television presenter, philanthropist and serial sex offender (died 2011)
• 14 November – Tom Hatten, American broadcast media personality (died 2019)

References