The Radio Act of 1912

The United States' first federal law to require licenses for radio operators and stations, and the beginning of amateur radio's own licensing history. Congress acted after amateur operators up and down the East Coast crowded the airwaves during the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, delaying the relay of the ship's distress calls. The Act, signed by President Taft on August 13, 1912, restricted most amateur stations to wavelengths below 200 metres, a band professional operators considered nearly useless at the time. The restriction backfired on its own intent: confined to short wave, amateurs discovered its long-range properties years before commercial and military services did. Licensing was interrupted entirely during the First World War, when the Department of Commerce ordered every amateur off the air in 1917; transmitting privileges were not fully restored until November 1919.