FM Radio Demonstrated: Armstrong Changes the Airwaves
Edwin Armstrong finally got to demonstrate FM radio to the FCC on January 5, 1940. The static-free signal stopped the commissioners cold. AM radio was full of interference, weather noise, electrical crackle. FM had none of it. The audio quality was so clearly superior the demonstration should have ended the debate. It didn't. RCA lobbied against FM for years to protect its AM investments. Armstrong won the technical argument but lost the legal battle. He died broke in 1954. FM became the standard by the 1970s.
January 5, 1940
86 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 5
Edward the Confessor died January 5, 1066 without an heir. Three men claimed the throne within months: Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardrada of Norway, William of N…
Charles the Bold spent his reign building Burgundy into something between a kingdom and an empire — richer than France, more powerful than most actual monarchie…
Charles the Bold fell at the Battle of Nancy and Burgundy fell with him. His body was found frozen in a pond, face down, three days after the battle. Without an…
Ludovico Sforza had been ruling Milan as regent when he invited the French king Charles VIII into Italy in 1494 — hoping French muscle would protect him from ri…
Felix Manz helped found the Anabaptist movement in Zurich — one of the earliest groups to insist on adult baptism and the separation of church and state. The ci…
A great fire swept through Eindhoven in January 1554, destroying most of the small Dutch market town. It was one of several catastrophic fires that struck Eindh…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.