April 15 In Radio History

In 1912…After midnight, two wireless radio operators at Cape Race, Newfoundland heard the last of the RMS Titanic's distress calls. At 2:27 a.m., the "unsinkable" ocean liner sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg the evening before. There were 711 survivors. A total of 1,517 people died, of which 328 bodies were recovered. Those too badly damaged or deteriorated were buried at sea, and the remaining 209 were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they were claimed from the morgues or buried over an 11-day period starting May 3.


In 1956…Columbia Records music director Mitch Miller, disc jockey Alan Freed, and two psychiatrists appeared on Eric Sevareid's TV program "CBS Sunday News" to discuss the "potentially negative effects of rock 'n' roll on teenagers."



In 1994...In Cleveland, WMMS-FM's Jeff & Flash, & entire station staff, were fired.



WMMS, aka "The Buzzard", ruled the Cleveland airwaves through much of the 1970s and 80s. The morning team of Jeff Kinzbach and Ed "Flash" Ferenc were at the top of the ratings until their departure in 1994.


In 2013…In Boston, two bombs exploded near the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon, killing three people and causing injury to more than 260 others, the worst act of terrorism in America since 9/11. Two prime suspects were identified later that day as Chechen brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Tamerlan was shot by police. An unprecedented manhunt led to Dzhokhar's capture on April 19. According to FBI interrogators, Dzhokhar and his brother were motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs, but "were not connected to any known terrorist groups." On July 10, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pled not guilty to 30 charges. His federal court trial is scheduled to begin on November 3, 2014.