Radio was an important part of life from the 1920s to the 1950s (mortaljourney.com). People turned to radio for entertainment like music and stories. Even preachers began to preach on the radio and were heard by a large group. During the war, radio stations produced information about current events, otherwise they would not have known about it if radio was not available. Radios are also used by the police, the military and even the average citizen. Radio was the first means by which mass communication was possible. They are one of the greatest inventions that have radically changed the lives of Americans. From 1923 to 1930, sixty percent of the American population owned a radio. It not only gives information but also advertises businesses or community events through advertisements. Today, radio reaches more than 228 million Americans each week by phone, in cars and on the Internet (entrepenur.com). In the late 1800s, James Maxwell and Heinrich Hertz detected electromagnetic waves from sparks. Electromagnetic waves were considered unusable by Richmond 2 until Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor, found a practical use for them (Mack)(clemson.edu). He started using electromagnetic waves only in his garden. This was the first step towards the creation of radio. Later, Marconi sent the first radio signal a mile away in Italy and received it in 1895 (about.com). In 1901, he succeeded in sending signals across the Atlantic Sea. Not only did Marconi try to make radio possible, but four years earlier, Nikola Tesla was creating the first radio. Thus, Tesla was called "the inventor of the radio" and Marconi made the first radio. It is said that in 1892, Nathan Stubblefield actually transmitted a radio signal four years before Marconi... middle of paper ... he even used it to help save the Titantic in 1912, over a hundred years ago years. . Despite the belief that radios would never be practical, today there are more than two billion radios in the world (didyouknow.com). Works Cited⦁ http://didyouknow.org/history/radiohistory/⦁ http://inventors. about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/radio.htm⦁ http://www.mortaljourney.com/2011/04/1920-trends/radio-history⦁ http://www.otrcat.com/wwii-on- the-radio.html⦁ http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/harding-becomes-first-president-to-be-heard-on-the-radio⦁ http://www. history.com/topics/fireside-chats⦁ http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/PamMack/lec122/radio.htm⦁ http://crank-radio-review.toptenreviews.com/⦁ http http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Operations/Traffic/FAQs/Pages/HAR.aspx⦁ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/177002⦁ http://www.noaa. gov /wx.html