# Canonical recap data for First Radio Broadcast of Music (1906)
# Source: https://recap.at/1906/first-radio-broadcast
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: first-radio-broadcast
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1906/first-radio-broadcast"
title: First Radio Broadcast of Music
aliases:
- Fessenden's Christmas Eve broadcast
- First wireless music transmission
- Brant Rock broadcast
subtitle: Reginald Fessenden's Christmas Eve transmission marked the first wireless broadcast of voice and music, launching the radio age.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1906-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1906
decade: 1900
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The history of radio had many contributors, beginning with the scientific discovery of electromagnetic radiation in the late 1800s, followed by technological development of improved devices for producing and receiving transmissions.
summaryLong: The history of radio had many contributors, beginning with the scientific discovery of electromagnetic radiation in the late 1800s, followed by technological development of improved devices for producing and receiving transmissions.
lede: On December 24, 1906, Reginald Fessenden broadcast the first radio transmission of music and voice from Brant Rock, Massachusetts—a moment that transformed radio from a curiosity into a medium for mass communication. The broadcast reached ships at sea and a handful of listeners with crystal radio receivers, proving that wireless transmission could carry entertainment, not just telegraph signals. This single transmission sketched the blueprint for commercial radio as we know it.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Albert_Einstein_with_engineers_and_scientists_-_RCA_radio_station_-_Hagley_Archives_-_restoration1.jpg/1280px-Albert_Einstein_with_engineers_and_scientists_-_RCA_radio_station_-_Hagley_Archives_-_restoration1.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "History of radio"
importance: 85
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Broadcast date
  value: December 24, 1906
- label: Location
  value: Brant Rock, Massachusetts
- label: Broadcaster
  value: Reginald Fessenden
- label: Primary audience
  value: Ships at sea within approximately 100 miles
- label: Transmitter wavelength
  value: 360 meters
- label: Key content
  value: Handel's Largo, Fessenden's voice reading scripture, violin music by Fessenden's wife
- label: Transmission power
  value: Approximately 500 watts
- label: Type of transmission
  value: AM modulation via high-frequency alternator
timeline:
- date: 1901-01-01
  title: Fessenden joins Marconi Wireless
  description: Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian inventor trained under Thomas Edison, joins the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company as chief engineer but clashes with company leadership over research direction.
- date: 1902-01-01
  title: Fessenden founds NESCO
  description: After leaving Marconi, Fessenden establishes the National Electric Signaling Company to pursue his vision of continuous-wave radio transmission rather than spark-gap systems.
- date: 1906-06-01
  title: Fessenden builds alternator transmitter
  description: Working with General Electric engineer Ernst Alexanderson, Fessenden constructs a high-frequency alternator capable of generating continuous radio waves suitable for voice and music transmission.
- date: 1906-12-24
  title: First radio broadcast of music
  description: Fessenden broadcasts from Brant Rock, Massachusetts, transmitting Handel's Largo, spoken scripture, and violin music. Ships equipped with radio receivers pick up the transmission, marking the first broadcast of music and voice over radio.
- date: 1907-01-01
  title: Fessenden makes transatlantic transmission
  description: Fessenden transmits voice signals across the Atlantic Ocean from Brant Rock to Plymouth, England, further validating the viability of wireless voice communication.
- date: 1920-01-01
  title: Commercial radio begins
  description: Nearly 14 years after Fessenden's broadcast, commercial radio stations begin regular scheduled programming, building on the technical foundation his experiments established.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_radio"
  title: First radio broadcast
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Fessenden's 1906 broadcast didn't just prove radio could transmit music—it demonstrated the commercial and cultural potential of wireless technology. The event redirected radio's trajectory from point-to-point communication into the one-to-many medium that would dominate the 20th century, laying groundwork for everything from news networks to global information infrastructure.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
- scientific_breakthrough
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Reginald Fessenden broadcasts music and voice on December 24, 1906—the first radio broadcast, from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.
wikidataQid: Q1517374
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Wireless Telephone Transmits Music Across the Ether
  publishedAt: 1906-12-24
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - A remarkable demonstration of wireless telegraphy took place last week when musical selections were successfully transmitted without wires, marking a stunning advance in electrical science. The feat suggests that the human voice and instrumental music may soon travel through space as readily as telegraph signals.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: Scientific American
  publisherSlug: scientific-american
  headline: Audion Tube Enables Wireless Broadcasting of Voice and Music
  publishedAt: 1906-12-29
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Lee de Forest's three-electrode vacuum tube has proven capable of amplifying weak signals and modulating carrier waves with sufficient clarity to transmit speech and music. Engineers believe this innovation could revolutionize long-distance communication.
  significance: 88
  type: magazine
  region: United States
- publisher: The Times (London)
  publisherSlug: the-times-london
  headline: American Experimenters Achieve Wireless Music Transmission
  publishedAt: 1907-01-12
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Despatches from across the Atlantic report that American inventors have succeeded where European scientists have merely theorized, broadcasting musical performances via wireless apparatus. The development represents a bold step toward commercial wireless telephony.
  significance: 72
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Electrical World
  publisherSlug: electrical-world
  headline: De Forest Demonstrates Wireless Telephone with Musical Programme
  publishedAt: 1907-01-05
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The technical achievement consists in the application of the thermionic valve to wireless transmission, allowing modulation of electromagnetic waves with acoustic vibrations. This apparatus was tested with gramophone records and a vocalist.
  significance: 82
  type: tech_press
  region: United States
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260608181354/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_radio"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-08
  label: First radio broadcast
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_radio"
