From Wikipedia:
Reginald Fessenden:
The Ghost of Radio Past
On the evening of December 24, 1906 (Christmas Eve), [Reginald] Fessenden used the alternator-transmitter to send out a short program from Brant Rock, which included his playing the song “O Holy Night” on the violin and reading a passage from the Bible. On December 31, New Year’s Eve, a second short program was broadcast. The main audience for both these transmissions was an unknown number of shipboard radio operators along the Atlantic Coast. Although now seen as a landmark, these two broadcasts were barely noticed at the time and soon forgotten—the only first-hand account appears to be a letter Fessenden wrote on January 29, 1932 to his former associate, Samuel M. Kinter. There are no known accounts in any ships radio logs, nor any contemporary literature, of the reported holiday demonstrations. In addition, Fessenden does not appear to have made any additional broadcasts intended for a general audience, and was actually promoting the alternator-transmitter as ideal for point-to-point wireless telephone service. Still, in retrospect, it was an important glimpse of the future of radio.
BEHOLD! THE GHOST OF RADIO FUTURE:
Oh, Ryan Seacrest. What will it take to wipe that glassy grin off your faux-tanned California mug?
Originally reported by Slashdot.
