1940 in radio

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The year 1940 saw a number of significant events inradio broadcastinghistory.

Events

5 January:FMradio is demonstrated for theFederal Communications Commissionin the United States for the first time.
7 January: TheBBC Forces Programmebegins broadcasting in the United Kingdom; it becomes the most popular channel among civilians at home as well as its primary target audience.
1 February:Radio Nacional de Colombiais launched as Radiodifusora Nacional de Colombia^[1]three years after closure of the country's first state-owned radio station,HJN.
25 February:The Proud Valleyis the first known film to have its première on radio when theBBCbroadcasts a 60-minute version.^[2]
9 April (7.30 pm): During the German invasion of Norway as part ofOperation Weserübung,Vidkun Quislingproclaims a newcollaborationist regimeon the national radio stationNRK.
10 May (9.00 pm):Neville Chamberlainmakes the first public announcement of his resignation asPrime Minister of the United Kingdom,and his replacement by Winston Churchill, on theBBC Home Service.
14 May:BBCreporter Charles Gardner working inReimsincorporates the live sounds of a German air raid in a broadcast report.^[3]
26 May:Fireside chatby thePresident of the United States:On National Defense.
2 June: BritishSecretary of State for War Anthony Edengives a radio address claiming success of theDunkirk evacuation.^[4]^[5]
5 June: Yorkshire-born novelist and playwrightJ. B. Priestleybroadcasts his first Sunday evening radioPostscript,"An excursion to hell", on the BBC Home Service, marking the role of the pleasure steamers in theDunkirk evacuation,just completed.
18 June^[3]
- GeneralCharles de Gaulle,de factoleader of theFree French ForcesinWorld War II,uses the airwaves of theBBCto make hisAppeal of 18 Junefrom London to the French people for resistance to theNazi German occupation of France.
- Winston Churchill,Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, repeats his "This was their finest hour"speech, made earlier to theHouse of Commons,on the BBC Home Service.
14 July: The BBC Home Service 9.00 pm news bulletin includes a vivid account of an air battle over theEnglish Channelrecorded live the previous day by reporter Charles Gardner.^[6]The bulletin is preceded by a speech by Churchill, "The War of the Unknown Warriorsˮ,^[7]and followed byJ. B. Priestley'sPostscriptdescribing the seaside resort ofMargatein wartime.^[8]
19 July:Adolf Hitlermakes a peace appeal ( "appeal to reason" ) to Britain in an address to theReichstag,broadcast simultaneously in English translation byPaul Schmidt.^[9]BBC German-language broadcasterSefton Delmerunofficially rejects it at once^[10]andLord Halifax,British foreign minister, flatly rejects peace terms in a broadcast reply on 22 July.
October: The evacuatedBBCRadio Variety Department relocates toBangorin north Wales from where it will broadcast until 1943.
15 October: Seven staff are killed when an attempt to eject a delayed-action German bomb fromBroadcasting HouseinLondonfails.^[11]
29 December:Fireside chat:On National Security.

Debuts

7 January:Gene Autry's Melody Ranchdebuts onCBS.^[12]
28 January:Beat the Banddebuts onNBC.^[13]
5 February:Amanda of Honeymoon Hilldebuts onNBC Blue.^[13]
11 February:The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Streetdebuts onNBC Blue.^[13]
12 February:The Adventures of Superman(1940–1951) debuts onWOR.^[14]
29 February:Welsh Rarebit,broadcast by the BBC from its Cardiff studio (until 1944 and then from 1948 until 1952)^[15]
18 March:Light of the Worlddebuts onNBC Red.
23 March:Truth or Consequencesdebuts onCBS.
21 April:Take It or Leave Itmakes its debut onCBS Radioin the United States, withBob Hawkas host.
29 April:The Bell Telephone Hourdebuts onNBC Red.
23 June:Music While You Workdebuts on theBBC Forces Programme.^[16]
24 June:The Burl Ives Showdebuts onNBC.^[14]
3 July:The Abbott and Costello Showdebuts onNBC.^[14]
29 July:Duffy's Tavernfirst broadcast as part of theForecastaudition series onCBS.It returns as a regular series 1 March 1941.^[14]
4 August:Crime Doctordebuts on CBS.^[14]
1 November:Unlimited Horizonsdebuts onNBC.^[14]
9 December:Can You Top This?debuts onWOR (AM).^[14]
16 December:Charlie and Jessiedebuts onCBS.^[14]
29 December:Deadline Dramasdebuts onNBC.^[14]

Closings

19 January:Brenda Curtisends its run on network radio (CBS).^[14]
19 January:Doc Barclay's Daughtersends its run on network radio (CBS).^[14]
12 February:Author, Authorends its run on network radio (Mutual).^[14]
15 March:Betty and Bobends its run on network radioNBC.^[14]
22 March:The Affairs of Anthonyends its run on network radio (Blue Network).^[14]
23 March:Arch Oboler's Playsends its run on network radio (NBC).^[14]
27 April:Art for Your Sakeends its run on network radio (NBC).^[14]
1 May:Avalon Timeends its run on network radio (NBC).^[14]
4 June:Brenthouseends its run on network radio (Blue Network).^[14]
19 July:Caroline's Golden Storeends its run on network radio (CBS).^[14]
19 July:The Carters of Elm Streetends its run on network radio (Mutual).^[14]
27 September:The Dinah Shore Showends its run on network radio (Blue Network).^[14]
7 October:Adventures in Readingends its run on network radio.^[14]
19 October:Renfrew of the Mountedends its run on network radio (CBS).^[12]

Births

1 April:Annie Nightingale,British radio music presenter
10 April:Gloria Hunniford,Northern Irish broadcast presenter
21 May:Ronan O'Rahilly,Irish-born media entrepreneur (died2020)
5 June:David Brudnoy,populartalk radiohost inBoston, Massachusettsfrom1976(died2004)
11 July:Tommy Vance,British radio broadcaster (died2005)
17 July:Tim Brooke-Taylor,British broadcast comedy performer (died2020)
9 October:John Lennon,English musician, radio personality and member ofThe Beatles(murdered1980)
13 November:Wally K. Daly,British radio scriptwriter (died2020)
Dickie Arbiter,British royal broadcast presenter

Deaths

5 March:Maxine Elliott,US actress and businesswoman, former co-owner of theMaxine Elliott's Theatre,72^[17]
9 April:Mrs. Patrick Campbell,English actress, 72^[18]
9 August:Alessandro Bonci,Italian tenor, 70^[19]
30 October:Hilda Matheson,pioneering British radio talks producer, 52 (Graves' disease)^[20]
23 November:Billy Jones,US singer, known forThe Happiness Boys,51 (heart attack)^[21]

References

^"HJN, la primera emisora del Estado".Señal Memoria.RTVC. Archived fromthe originalon 19 April 2014.Retrieved14 September2013.
^Bourne, Stephen (2001).Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television(2nd ed.). A. & C. Black. p. 28.ISBN 978-0-8264-5539-0.
^^a ^bStourton, Edward(2017).Auntie's War: the BBC during the Second World War.London: Doubleday.ISBN 978-0-857-52332-7.
^"The Battle of the Ports".ibiblio.Retrieved11 December2015.
^Cerutti, Joseph (3 June 1940). "Four-Fifths of British Saved, Eden Asserts".Chicago Daily Tribune.p. 1.
^"News Report - Air Battle off Dover".BBC.Retrieved18 April2020.
^Cohen, Ronald I. (18 November 2016)."Churchill Recordings: Speeches and Memoirs".Hillsdale College: The Churchill Project.Retrieved18 April2020.
^Cullingford, Alison (14 July 2010)."Postscript 14 July 1940".Special Collections – University of Bradford.Retrieved18 April2020.
^Schmidt, Paul (1951).Hitler's Interpreter.London: Heinemann.
^Delmer, Sefton.Black Boomerang.
^"War presents new challenges".About BBC News.BBC.Retrieved2 December2019.
^^a ^bCox, Jim (2008).This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History.McFarland & Company, Inc.ISBN 978-0-7864-3848-8.
^^a ^b ^cDunning, John. (1976).Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976.Prentice-Hall, Inc.ISBN 0-13-932616-2.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^vDunning, John. (1998).On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio.Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
^John Davies (1994).Broadcasting and the BBC in Wales.University of Wales Press. p. 132.ISBN 978-0-7083-1273-5.
^"Music While You Work".whirligig-tv.Retrieved11 January2011.
^Diana Forbes-Robertson (1964).My aunt Maxine: the story of Maxine Elliott.Viking Press.
^"Mrs. Campbell, 75, Famous Actress".The New York Times.11 April 1940.Retrieved29 June2008.Mrs. Patrick Campbell, famous actress, died last night in Pau, according to word received here to day. She had taken leading roles in plays of Shakespeare, Shaw and Barrie, and on several occasions had toured America.
^"Alessandro Bonci, Lyric Tenor, Dies. Singer, Known For His Perfect Technique, First Heard Here In 1906, Had One Teacher. Compared With Caruso Joined Metropolitan in 1908 After Popularity Had Made Him Center of Opera War".The New York Times.11 August 1940.
^Hunter, Fred (May 2012)."Matheson, Hilda (1888–1940)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.London, England: Oxford University Press.Retrieved27 June2016.
^Frank Hoffmann; B Lee Cooper; Tim Gracyk (12 November 2012).Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895-1925.Routledge. p. 159.ISBN 978-1-136-59229-4.

[1] "HJN, la primera emisora del Estado".Señal Memoria.RTVC. Archived fromthe originalon 19 April 2014.Retrieved14 September2013.

[2] Bourne, Stephen (2001).Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television(2nd ed.). A. & C. Black. p. 28.ISBN 978-0-8264-5539-0.

[Stourton-3] Stourton, Edward(2017).Auntie's War: the BBC during the Second World War.London: Doubleday.ISBN 978-0-857-52332-7.

[4] "The Battle of the Ports".ibiblio.Retrieved11 December2015.

[5] Cerutti, Joseph (3 June 1940). "Four-Fifths of British Saved, Eden Asserts".Chicago Daily Tribune.p. 1.

[6] "News Report - Air Battle off Dover".BBC.Retrieved18 April2020.

[7] Cohen, Ronald I. (18 November 2016)."Churchill Recordings: Speeches and Memoirs".Hillsdale College: The Churchill Project.Retrieved18 April2020.

[8] Cullingford, Alison (14 July 2010)."Postscript 14 July 1940".Special Collections – University of Bradford.Retrieved18 April2020.

[9] Schmidt, Paul (1951).Hitler's Interpreter.London: Heinemann.

[10] Delmer, Sefton.Black Boomerang.

[11] "War presents new challenges".About BBC News.BBC.Retrieved2 December2019.

[coxotd-12] Cox, Jim (2008).This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History.McFarland & Company, Inc.ISBN 978-0-7864-3848-8.

[dunningtiy-13] Dunning, John. (1976).Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976.Prentice-Hall, Inc.ISBN 0-13-932616-2.

[dunningota-14] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^vDunning, John. (1998).On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio.Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.

[15] John Davies (1994).Broadcasting and the BBC in Wales.University of Wales Press. p. 132.ISBN 978-0-7083-1273-5.

[16] "Music While You Work".whirligig-tv.Retrieved11 January2011.

[17] Diana Forbes-Robertson (1964).My aunt Maxine: the story of Maxine Elliott.Viking Press.

[18] "Mrs. Campbell, 75, Famous Actress".The New York Times.11 April 1940.Retrieved29 June2008.Mrs. Patrick Campbell, famous actress, died last night in Pau, according to word received here to day. She had taken leading roles in plays of Shakespeare, Shaw and Barrie, and on several occasions had toured America.

[19] "Alessandro Bonci, Lyric Tenor, Dies. Singer, Known For His Perfect Technique, First Heard Here In 1906, Had One Teacher. Compared With Caruso Joined Metropolitan in 1908 After Popularity Had Made Him Center of Opera War".The New York Times.11 August 1940.

[20] Hunter, Fred (May 2012)."Matheson, Hilda (1888–1940)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.London, England: Oxford University Press.Retrieved27 June2016.

[21] Frank Hoffmann; B Lee Cooper; Tim Gracyk (12 November 2012).Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895-1925.Routledge. p. 159.ISBN 978-1-136-59229-4.

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