This Pittsburgh radio station is considered to be the first to broadcast in the U.S. Do you know its call letters?

This Pittsburgh station's historic broadcast on the evening of November 2, 1920, is widely considered the birth of commercial broadcasting in the United States. On that night, from a small shack atop a Westinghouse Electric building, the station transmitted the live returns of the Harding-Cox presidential election to a small but growing audience of radio hobbyists. This event demonstrated the incredible potential of radio as a mass medium for instantly delivering news and information to the public.

The station's origins are tied to Westinghouse engineer Frank Conrad, who had been operating an amateur station from his garage. When a local department store began selling radio sets specifically to listen to Conrad's popular broadcasts, a Westinghouse executive realized the company could sell more receivers by providing professional, regularly scheduled programming. They quickly established a more powerful transmitter and obtained the first commercial radio license from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

While other experimental broadcasts had occurred previously, this station's combination of a commercial license, a regular programming schedule, and a clear intent to serve the general public solidifies its claim as America's pioneer broadcasting station. Its success launched a nationwide radio boom, forever changing entertainment and communication.