Only a few people could hear the broadcast. Some were people in the New York area who had built radio receivers. Some ships at sea and military radio stations received the broadcast. Many newspapers of the day reported on the event. The name of Lee De Forest became part of broadcasting history.

BARBARA KLEIN:

De Forest developed some of the technology used in early radio. During his lifetime, he invented hundreds of devices that were used in telephones, shortwave radio broadcasts, and similar technology.

His most famous invention was the vacuum tube, or electron tube. In nineteen-oh-six, the electron tube was considered the single most important development in electronics. The device made it possible to strengthen radio signals and to send them over long distances. It was a major reason for the fast growth of the electronics and communications industries in the early part of the twentieth century.

STEVE EMBER:

Edwin Armstrong was another American inventor who was important in the development of electronics and radio communication. Armstrong developed technology that helped to improve radio reception. He discovered ways to limit unwanted radio signals. Edwin Armstrong also was a leader in using radio to reproduce sounds clearly. This process became known as frequency modulation, or FM radio. FM radio provided better sound reproduction and less noise or interference than traditional AM radio. Armstrong also developed radio receivers that became widely used.