January 7 In Radio History

In 1904...the Marconi Company made a proposal that there be an international Radio distress signal. "C.Q.D" meant "Stop Sending and Listen" although many eventually thought it to mean "Come, Quick, Danger". The code began use February 7, 1904 and was replaced in 1908 by "S.O.S."



In 1924...At the age of 26, composer George Gershwin began writing his classic, "Rhapsody in Blue," which he completed three weeks later. He passed the score to Paul Whiteman's arranger Ferde Grofé, who orchestrated the piece, finishing it on February 4, just eight days before its premiere in an afternoon concert by Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra at Aeolian Hall in New York City.


In 1940..."Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch" first aired on the CBS Radio Network. It stayed on the air for 16 years.



In 1941...The NBC Blue Radio Network debuted "The Squeaky Door". The show was later became known as "Inner Sanctum."

In 1943...Physicist/engineer/inventor/futurist Nikola Tesla, best remembered for his design of the alternating current (AC) electricity supply system and his contributions to the invention of radio communication, died of a coronary thrombosis at the age of 86.