The invention of the radio is complex and involved several inventors over a period of time. The first wireless radio was invented in 1893 by Nikola Tesla, who assembled the first radio in St. Louis, Missouri. However, Guglielmo Marconi is often credited as the father of radio because he was the first to send a wireless radio signal communication in 1895 and was issued the first patent for a wireless radio device in England in 1896. Marconi also famously transmitted the first wireless radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean in 1901. Additionally, Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden made the first long- distance transmission of audio (voice and music) using radio waves in 1900 and performed the first public wireless broadcast in 1906. Key moments include:
- 1893: Nikola Tesla invents the first wireless radio.
- 1895-1896: Guglielmo Marconi develops wireless communication and receives the first patent.
- 1900: Reginald Fessenden sends the first audio transmission.
- 1901: Marconi transmits the first transatlantic radio signal.
- 1906: Fessenden makes the first public broadcast of voice and music.
Thus, the radio's invention was a collaborative process from the early 1890s through the early 1900s, with significant contributions from Tesla, Marconi, and Fessenden among others.