August 20, 1920 –
The first commercial radio station begins operating in Detroit, Michigan with call sign 8MK (Now WWJ (Newsradio 950) ). (8MK went on the air without a license on this date. I understand that KDKA went on the air in Pittsburgh as the world’s first commercially licensed station on November 2, 1920.)
The radio station was started by The Detroit News newspaper and is now owned and run by CBS.
To celebrate the event, National Radio Day, UNESCO formally announced the formation of International Radio Day in February of 2012 (celebrated February 13th), after a suggestion put forward by Spain to celebrate this important means of communication. In some parts of the world, radio still remains an important lifeline to the outside world.
The Haus of Dcaligari 