Edward S. Rogers Sr.

Lore & Background

Rogers first became interested in radio at age 11 when he saw a receiver. By 1913, local newspapers noted his skill at operating a radio station. During the summers of 1916–1919, he worked as a radio officer on Great Lakes passenger ships. In 1921, he operated the only Canadian (and only spark-gap) station to compete successfully in the first amateur trans-Atlantic radio competition, holding the call sign 3BP. He joined the Canadian chapter of the American Radio Relay League that same year.

In the early 1920s, radio receivers required large, expensive batteries for high-voltage vacuum tubes. In April 1924, Rogers traveled to the United States and saw experimental AC receiving tubes at Westinghouse in Pittsburgh. He purchased the patent rights to Frederick S. McCullough's experimental alternating current tubes. After further development, Rogers produced a vacuum tube design that operated on alternating current. By 1925, he introduced a complete batteryless radio receiver and a 'battery eliminator' power supply for other manufacturers' sets. The Rogers batteryless radio entered commercial sales in August 1925, the world's first receiver to run on household current. At a time when a schoolteacher might earn $1,000 per year, the top-of-the-line model sold for $370.

Rogers formed Standard Radio Manufacturing (later Rogers Vacuum Tube Company) to produce the new receivers. In 1927, he founded CFRB radio station in Toronto, whose call letters stood for 'Canada's First Rogers Batteryless.' The station is now owned by Bell Media.

Reader's Guide

Rogers' development of the batteryless radio eliminated the need for bulky, expensive batteries, making radio reception practical for ordinary households. His design of vacuum tubes that operated on alternating current was a foundational step in consumer electronics. The company he founded, Rogers Vacuum Tube Company, became the basis for a family business that his son, Edward S. Rogers Jr., later expanded into Rogers Communications, a major media conglomerate. CFRB, the radio station Rogers established in 1927, remains a significant Toronto broadcaster. Rogers was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Telecommunications Hall of Fame alongside his son in 2006. In 2000, his batteryless radio was featured on a Canada Post millennium stamp. His legacy is that of an inventor who transformed radio from a battery-dependent hobby into a household utility.

Did You Know?

• Rogers held amateur radio call sign 3BP and competed in the first amateur trans-Atlantic radio competition in 1921.
• His batteryless radio, introduced in 1925, was the world's first receiver to operate from household alternating current.
• Rogers founded CFRB radio station in 1927; the call letters stand for 'Canada's First Rogers Batteryless.'