He Did Solemnly Swear: The Way It Was, 4 March

1925---For the first time in American history, citizens not in Washington could hear the President of the United States take his oath of office and give his inaugural address: the inauguration of radio-friendly Calvin Coolidge, elected in his own right after first succeeding to the office on the death of scandal-plagued Warren G. Harding, is broadcast live.

Coolidge has already been the first President to give an address to Congress (6 December 1923) that was carried on radio and the first to give a political speech over the medium. Two years after his inauguration, Coolidge will sign the federal Radio Act of 1927, birthing the Federal Radio Commission (later known as the Federal Communications Commission).

AIRWAVES . . .

1910: TUBULAR AIRTIME---The inventor of the three-element electron tube, Dr. Lee DeForest, conducts an experimental broadcast in New York.

1942: ON THE GOOD SHIP RADIOPOP---Child star Shirley Temple, now a fourteen-year-old adolescent in real life, stars as Judy Graves in Junior Miss, a situation comedy that premieres this morning on CBS.

Addressing middle class adolescence, the show's original cast also includes K.T. Stevens as mother Lois, Gale Gordon as father Harry, Myra Marsh as maid Hilda, and Priscilla Lyon as Fuffy Adams. The writers will include Herbert Little, Jr., Jack Rubin, Charles Sinclair, and David Victor.

1952: SHOVING OFF---Courier, America's first known seafaring radio station, is launched by President Harry S. Truman.

CHANNEL SURFING . . .

1951: ARTS AND BITCHCRAFT---Ethel Merman and hostess Tallulah Bankhead renew their friendly bitchcraft practise ("I'm surprised at you, Tallulah, being this nervous---haven't you ever met the daughter of a President before?" "Yes, I did meet one." "Well, I hope you weren't this nervous with Miss McKinley"); Fred Allen presents the show an endurance award; music director Meredith Willson ("Well, sir, Miss Bankhead") salutes Bankhead in song; and, Clive Brooks, Margaret Phillips, and Hugh Reilly offer segments from the Philip Barrie play, Present Threshold, among other highlights and laughlights on tonight's edition of The Big Show. (NBC.) Additional cast: Portland Hoffa, Frankie Laine, Herb Shriner, Margaret Truman. Writers: Goodman Ace, Selma Diamond, George Foster, Mort Greene, Frank Wilson. Music: Meredith Willson.

PREMIERING TODAY . . .

1888---David Frederick Smith (creator: March of Time), Clarksburg, Indiana.
1892---Helen Van Tuyl (actress: Bachelor's Children), Iowa.
1896---George Shelton (comedian: It Pays To Be Ignorant), New York City.
1907---Edgar Barrier (actor: The Saint), New York.
1913---John Garfield (actor: Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players), New York City.
1916---William Alland (actor: Mercury Theatre of the Air, Frontier Gentleman), Delmare, Delaware.
1921---Joan Greenwood (actress: Stagestruck), London.