It was on Dec. 12th, 1901, exactly 121 years ago, that Guglielmo Marconi sent the very first transatlantic message across the ocean, from England to St. John's, Newfoundland. And it planted the very first seeds of what would become the radio we know today. (Leave it to a DXer to get it all started!) 

Almost everyone is familiar with the story of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which used radio to send a distress signal for help after it struck that famous iceberg. It's estimated that transmission helped save hundreds of lives. But what I never knew is that one of the people who was supposed to be on board that ill-fated "unsinkable" ship was Marconi himself. 

According to the linked article:

"In an ironic twist, Marconi narrowly avoided traveling on that fatal voyage — he was offered a free ticket for the Titanic but took the Lusitania three days earlier," the BBC reported."

A quirk of history and a lucky break for Marconi - and radio itself.

On this day in history, Dec. 12, 1901, Guglielmo Marconi sends first transatlantic radio message