Radio History: May 24

➦In 1844...Samuel F.B. Morse gave the first public demonstration of his telegraph by sending a message from the Supreme Court Chamber in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to the B&O Railroad "outer depot" (now the B&O Railroad Museum) in Baltimore. The famous message was, "What hath God wrought?"

➦In 1915...Thomas Edison invents telescribe to record telephone conversations

➦In 1935...The Mutual Broadcasting System network aired its inaugural live event—the first-ever night baseball game, between the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. That October, the network began a decades-long run as broadcaster of baseball's World Series, with airtime responsibilities shared between WGN's Bob Elson and Quin Ryan and WLW's Red Barber (NBC and CBS also carried the series that year; the Fall Classic would air on all three networks through 1938).

➦In 1958…Formally named "United Press Associations" for incorporation and legal purposes, but publicly known and identified as United Press or UP, the news agency was created by the 1907 uniting of three smaller news syndicates. It became United Press International after absorbing the International News Service (INS). As either UP or UPI, the agency was among the largest newswire services in the world, competing domestically for about 90 years with the Associated Press and internationally with AP, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

➦In 1963...The Beatles recorded the first program of their own BBC radio series, “Pop Go the Beatles”. The theme song was a version of “Pop Goes the Weasel”.

➦In 1981...Radio, TV Actor and personality George Jessel, who often performed with the nickname “America’s Toastmaster General,” died after a heart attack at age 83.

➦In 2008...Comedian Dick Martin, a co-star with Dan Rowan on NBC TV’s iconic “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”, died of respiratory problems at age 86.  Early in his career, Martin was a staff writer for Duffy's Tavern, a radio situation comedy.

➦In 2011…Veteran personality Hugh Copland died at age 79.  He had stints at WJJJD-AM and WAIT-AM in Chicago, WXYZ-AM and WWJ-TV in Detroit.

Bob Dylan is 83

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• Musician John Madden of The Serendipity Singers is 87. 
• Jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp is 87. 
• Comedian Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong is 86. 
• Musician Bob Dylan is 83. 
• Actor Gary Burghoff (““M.A.S.H.”) is 81. 
• Singer Patti LaBelle is 80. 
• Actor Priscilla Presley is 79. 
• Country singer-songwriter Mike Reid is 77. 
• Actor Jim Broadbent (“Moulin Rouge,” ″Iris”) is 75. 
• Actor Alfred Molina is 71. 
• Singer Rosanne Cash is 69. 
• Actor Cliff Parisi (“Call the Midwife”) is 64. 
• Actor Kristin Scott Thomas is 64. 
• Actor John C. Reilly (“Chicago,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”) is 59. 
• Actor Dana Ashbrook (“Twin Peaks”) is 57. 
• Actor Eric Close (“Nashville,” ″Without a Trace”) is 57. 
• Actor Carl Payne (“Martin,” ″The Cosby Show”) is 55. 
• Guitarist Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes is 55. 
• Actor Dash Mihok (“Silver Linings Playbook”) is 50. 
• Actor Bryan Greenberg (film’s “Bride Wars,” TV’s “One Tree Hill”) is 46. 
• Actor Billy L. Sullivan (“Something So Right”) is 44. 
• Actor-rapper Big Tyme is 43. 
• Drummer Cody Hanson of Hinder is 42. 
• Dancer Mark Ballas (“Dancing with the Stars”) is 38. 
• Country singer Billy Gilman is 36. 
• Rapper G-Eazy is 35. 
• Actor Cayden Boyd (“The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl”) is 30.

✞REMEMBRANCES:

• In 1991..(Harold Eugene) Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter (The Byrds - "Eight Miles High"), dies from natural causes brought on by bleeding ulcer at 46
• In 2008..Dick Martin [Thomas Richard], Actor and comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Carbon Copy), dies of respiratory complications at 86
• In 2023..George Maharis, American actor (Route 66 - "Buz"; The Happening; The Most Deadly Game), dies at 94
• In 2023..Tina Turner. American singer (Ike & Tina - "Proud Mary"; solo - "What's Love Got To Do With It"), dies at 83