History of Audio

By. Tye Shelton

1877

• Thomas Edison recovers Mary Had a Little Lamb from a sheet of tinfoil, wrapped around a spinning cylinder.

1878

• First music is put on record: cornetist Jules Levy plays “Yankee Doodle.”

1881

• Artist Clement Alder accidently produced a stereo effect using basic microphones and mediocre headphones.

1888

• Edison introduces an electric motor-driven phonograph.

1898

• Valdamer Paulsen patents his “Telephonograph” with recording his steel magnet wire.

1901

• Victor talking company is established founded by Emily Berliner , who starts work on first motion picture film.

1906

• Lee Deforest invents the first triode vacuum tube, creating the first electronic signal amplifier.

1910

• Enrique Caruso is heard on first live broadcast from Metropolitan area, NYC

1912

• Major Edwin F. Armstrong is issued patent on Regenerative circuit, which makes Radio reception possible.

1913

• The first “Talking Movie” is demonstrated by Thomas Edison using Kinethophone process.

1917

• The scully disk recording lathe is introduced.

1919

• The radio corporation of America is founded, (RCA).

1921

• The first commercial AM radio broadcast is made KDKA, Pittsburgh, PA.

1925

The first electrically recorded 78 rpm disk appears.

1927

• Colombia broadcasting system is formed. (CBS)

1921

• The “Blatternphone” is released for use as a magnetic recorded steel device.

1933

• The first candoid ribbon micrphone is patented by Dr. Harry F. Olsen of RCA

1944

• Walt disney’s Fantasia is released, with eight track stereophonic sound system.

1941

• Commercial broadcasting begins in the U.S.

1949

• Ampex introduces its model 300 professional sound amplifier.

1956

• Les Paul makes first 8 track recording, using the self-sync system.

1961

• EMI fails to renew the Blumerlin stereo patent Hello-anybody there?

1961

• The Dolby Type A noise system is introduced.

1968

• CBS releases Switch-on Bach release Walter (Wendy cross).

1974

• D.B Keele introduces the design of “constant-directivity”

1981

• Phillips introduces the compact disk (CD).

1986

• First digital monitors appear.

1999

• Audio DVD standard 1.0 agreed upon by manufactures.

Sources

• http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/audio.history.timeline.html

• http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-edison-9284349