The year 1939 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.

Contents Events Debuts Closings Births Deaths References

Events

• 15 July: One of the oldest radio stations in the Philippines, DZRH was established.
• 7 August: Official test transmissions begin from Radio Andorra. The station is ceremonially inaugurated two days later by the French Minister of Public Works, Anatole de Monzie.
• 3 September: Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announces on the BBC at 11.15 local time (10.15 GMT) that "this country is at war with Germany".
• 3 September: Fireside chat: On the European War.
• 11 December: Havana, Cuba's CMQ (since 1959, state-owned Radio Rebelde) becomes the first affiliate for the NBC Red Network based outside of the United States and Canada.^[1]

"Radio: Cuba Joins," December 19, 1939, Time.com

• 25 December: Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol is read for the first time on American radio (CBS).

Debuts

• 14 January: Honolulu Bound debuts on CBS.
• 16 January: I Love a Mystery debuts on west coast NBC stations.
• 13 February: Virginia Payne takes over the role of Mrs. Carter in The Carters of Elm Street.
• 19 February: Norman Corwin's radio series Words Without Music is premiered on the CBS Radio Network.
• 3 April: Mr. District Attorney (1939 1952) debuts on NBC.
• 1 September: At 21.00 local time the BBC's Home Service begins transmission: this will be the Corporation's only domestic radio channel for the first four months of World War II.

Closings

• 1 September At 18.55 local time BBC engineers receive the order to close down all transmitters in preparation for wartime broadcasting: this marks the end of the National and Regional Programmes of the BBC.

Births

• March 3 Larry Burkett (died 2003), American evangelical Christian author and radio personality.
• December 18 Alex Bennett, talk show host

Deaths

References

de:Rundfunkjahr 1939 sv:Radio ret 1939