Every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. in San Jose, California, Charles Herrold sat religiously in his crowded office, surrounded by records that he presented before him. Charles broadcast his radio show, playing music and reading news, mainly to college students, who listened to radios that they built themselves. Year? 1912.
He is known as the father of broadcasting, sending music and news to listeners before the word “radio” was invented.
Herrold’s ‘Little Hams Program’ airs every week from San Jose to a growing audience of young listeners, and on a good night, the signal could be picked up 900 miles away. Charles took new and popular records, placed them on a phonograph, and pointed a microphone at the music, so that everyone could hear the sound clearly. The show ran from 1912 to 1917. Ironically, however, the San José newspaper criticized the new local medium, saying it “threatens live entertainment, such as the symphony or theater.” Radio was new, but it certainly couldn’t replace live theater. In 1994, the Mayor of San José dedicated September 12 to Charles Herrold Day in honor of his great contribution to society.
Guglielmo Marconi of London had previously had a patent granted to Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company on April 26, 1901, which granted Marconi the Patent “for improvements in wireless telegraphy apparatus.” For that reason, Marconi is known as the inventor of radio, that is, the ability to send a wireless signal. Charles Herrold, however, is the father and inventor of broadcasting.
