Reginald Aubrey Fessenden 

(1866-1932) has often been called the unsung hero of the

telecommunications industry. Born in East Bolton, Quebec,

Reginald A. Fessenden
AM Radio

US Patent No. 706,747

Inducted in 2000
Born October 6, 1866 - Died July 22, 1932
Reginald Fessenden is known for discovering amplitude modulation (AM) radio and explaining
its scientific principles. With his heterodyne principle, he put into practice the idea of mixing two
high frequency signals to carry the audible low frequency of the human voice.

Fessenden became fascinated with the idea of wireless telegraphy as a child when he saw Bell
demonstrate his telephone. He wondered from that point on if he could transmit voice without
using wires. In 1900 he did just that, transmitting his voice with his "wireless telephone." Six
years later, history was made on Christmas Eve when Fessenden transmitted the first radio
broadcast from Brant Rock Station, Massachusetts. Ships at sea heard a broadcast that included
Fessenden playing "O Holy Night" on the violin and reading a passage from the Bible.

Born in East Bolton, Quebec, Canada, Fessenden was well-educated when he was young. When
he was eighteen, he became headmaster at a school in Bermuda. His work subsequently took him
back to the U.S. to work with Thomas Edison and to help George Westinghouse light the 1892
Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He then investigated wireless radio communication with the
U.S. Weather Bureau. Fessenden held over 200 patents, including a version of microfilm and an
early form of sonar.