14 January 2025

WJSV's Complete Broadcast Day

This article is an excerpt
from RUSC Member's Area

On Thursday, September 21st, 1939, just after England had declared war on Germany - the start of World War 2 - WJSV Radio Station in Washington DC transcribed its Complete Broadcast Day.

On that day President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech to Congress on the issue of the Neutrality Law and WJSV decided to record the entire day in nineteen parts to keep a record of it. By listening you are taken back over sixty years and given an historical insight, not only into radio, but also into how life was all those years ago.

The first part of this wonderful aural document appears on the site today and each day for the next couple of weeks will see further installments.

I’m sure you’ll find it both educational and entertaining.

To help give you an insight into what was going on around the time of this recording I’ve done a little research. Below is a list of births, deaths, and historic events that happened during September 1939.

Births

  • 1939 (01 Sept)     Heinrich Messner Austria, downhill skier (Olympic-bronze-1972) 

  • 1939 (01 Sept)     Lily Tomlin Detroit, comedienne/actress (9 to 5, Laugh-in, All of Me) 

  • 1939 (05 Sept)    John Stewart San Diego CA, rocker (Kingston Trio-Fire in the Wind) 

  • 1939 (06 Sept)    David Allan Coe country musician (Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy) 

  • 1939 (07 Sept)    S David Griggs Portland Oregon, astronaut (STS 51D, STS 33) 

  • 1939 (10 Sept)     Greg Mullavey Buffalo NY, actor (Tom-Mary Hartman, Rituals) 

  • 1939 (11 Sept)      Lola Falana Camden NJ, singer (Liberation of LB Jones) 

  • 1939 (13 Sept)     Richard Kiel Detroit Mich, James Bond adversary 

  • 1939 (17 Sept)     David Souter Weir NH, Supreme Court Justice (1990) 

  • 1939 (18 Sept)     Fred Willard Ohio, comedian (Fernwood 2 Night, Real People) 

  • 1939 (22 Sept)     Junko Tabei Japan, 1st woman to climb Mount Everest 

  • 1939 (22 Sept)     Mike Sullivan (Gov-Wyoming) 

  • 1939 (24 Sept)     Manfred Wrner Secretary General of NATO 

  • 1939 (27 Sept)     Kathy Whitworth golfer (AP Woman Athlete of the Year-1966) 

  • 1939 (29 Sept)     Larry Linville Ojai Calif, actor (Frank Burns-M*A*S*H, Blue Movie) 

  • 1939 (29 Sept)     Mylene Demongeot Nice France, actress (Just Another Pretty Face) 

  • 1939 (30 Sept)     Len Cariou actor (Four Seasons)


Deaths

  • 1939 (06 Sept)     Arthur Racham artist, dies at 71 

  • 1939 (23 Sept)     Sigmund Freud created psychoanalysis, dies at 83


Events

  • 1939 (01 Sept)     Physical Review publishes 1st paper to deal with "black holes" 

  • 1939 (01 Sept)     WW II starts, Germany invades Poland, takes Danzig

  • 1939 (03 Sept)     Yanks beat Red Sox on a forfeit, their 4th forfeit win 

  • 1939 (03 Sept)     Britain declares war on Germany 

  • 1939 (03 Sept)     France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa & Canada followed Britain                                   in declaring war

  • 1939 (04 Sept)     The Polish ghetto of Mir is exterminated 

  • 1939 (07 Sept)     Radio NY Worldwide-WRUL begins radio transmission 

  • 1939 (08 Sept)     FDR declares "limited national emergency" due to war in Europe 

  • 1939 (08 Sept)     Yanks beat Red Sox 4-1 in 7, game called because of lightning 

  • 1939 (17 Sept)      Soviet Union invades Poland during WW II 

  • 1939 (23 Sept)     Cookie Lavagetto goes 6 for 6-Dodgers get 27 hits & beat Phillies 22-4 

  • 1939 (27 Sept)     Warsaw, Poland, surrenders to Germans after 19 days of resistance 

  • 1939 (28 Sept)     Soviet-German treaty agree on 4th partition of Poland (WW II) & gives                                    Lithuania to the USSR 

  • 1939 (30 Sept)     1st televised college football game (Fordham vs Waynesburg at NYC) 

  • 1939 (30 Sept)     Germany & Russia agree to partition Poland

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