Canadian-born Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932) caused a landmark in the development of radio when he transmitted his own voice over radio waves late in 1900, a feat not even Marconi had achieved. At the time, Fessenden was working for the United States Weather Bureau to develop wireless technology for weather forecasting. On December 23, at his station on Cobb Island, Maryland, Fessenden transmitted what is considered the first wireless transmission carrying audio sound. "Hello, one, two, three, four. Is it snowing where you are Mr. Thiessen? If it is, telegraph back and let me know," he shouted into the microphone. Thiessen excitedly telegraphed back that it was.
The transmitter that Fessenden used was a spark transmitter, a device developed in the late nineteenth century by radio pioneers Hertz, Marconi, and Braun to generate radio frequency electromagnetic waves. Fessenden had modified it so that the sparks produced more continuous waves rather than
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