August 3, 1931
A patent is finalized for the car radio by William P. Lear, who was born in Hannibal on June 26, 1902. Though his name is most often associated with corporate jet airplanes, William first made his mark in-car radios with the patent for “Radio Apparatus: particularly the portable type used in automobiles.” He is also credited with the development of the 8-track cartridge and as many as 120 patents.
Based upon content from the book Missouri 365: This Day in Missouri History by John W. Brown, broadcaster and Missouri historian. Get your copy at Reedy Press.
Image by National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution from Flickr licensed under CC by 2.0
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