The 29th U.S. President Warren G. Harding (1865-1923) speaks to hundreds of thousands of listeners via radio in 1922 over a 600 mile radius at the Ft. McHenry public unveiling of a Francis Scott Key monument. Radio station WEAR, owned by the “Baltimore News American” and only on the air previously for 6 days, is able to leave its studio for the broadcast because of brand new technology.
World War I veteran Stewart “Krafty” Kennard (1890-1971) is the key to the success of the broadcast. He works with the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company to develop the new remote technology and is the on-air announcer and control man for the event. Later in 1922, he works with the Maryland National Guard to purchase WEAR and relocate it to the Fifth Regiment Armory as WFBR (World’s First Broadcasting Regiment).
Before a successful WFBR is sold in 1927, Kennard is responsible for many firsts including broadcasting from a moving train and an airplane in flight. He develops the “word picture” style on air to describe the action and uses it to broadcast the first Baltimore Orioles baseball game.
In 1929, the first licensed television station broadcasts to the public as W3XK in Wheaton. It is operated until 1934 by the Charles Jenkins Laboratories.
