a janitor in a local shipyard. Almost forgotten, he died in a Hayward, California rest home on July 1, 1948, aged 72. In the 1940s, CBS attempted to buy its then-affiliate in San Francisco, KSFO. KSFO refused to sell, so CBS purchased KQW and moved it to San Francisco, changing the call letters to KCBS on April 3, 1949. In May 2006, KCBS and KPIX-TV moved their San Jose news bureau to the Fairmont Tower at 50 West San Fernando Street, the location of Herrold's original broadcasts. Although CBS management was not aware of the history of the San Fernando Street address when the move was planned, they quickly recognized and embraced its significance when informed at the bureau's opening celebration. Legacy Herrold sought recognition for his pioneering broadcasts, but with limited success while he was alive. There is general agreement that his San Jose station was the first to transmit entertainment broadcasts on a regular basis, dating back to at least 1912, thus giving him a legitimate claim to the self-proclaimed title of "Father of (audio) Broadcasting". More problematic is whether to also credit KCBS as the "world's oldest broadcasting station", which requires considering it to be "the direct lineal descendant" of Herrold's pre-war broadcasting activities. The main issue is Herrold's apparent delay in returning to broadcasting after World War I. A number of stations were already making regular broadcasts in 1920, including some in the nearby San Francisco Bay region, beginning in February 1920 with Emil Portal's broadcast of an orchestra concert from the Fairmont hotel in San Francisco. Thus, by restarting in May 1921 Herrold appears to have been merely rejoining the broadcasting ranks, rather than maintaining a continuous presence. Since 1978, the California Historical Radio Society has awarded an annual "Charles D. 'Doc' Herrold Award", in recognition of "Outstanding Achievement in the Preservation and Documentation of Early Radio". References External links The History of KQW and KCBS by John F. Schneider, 1996 (bayarearadio.org) "Charles David Herrold", History of Santa Clara County with Biographical Sketches by Eugene T. Sawyer, 1922, pages 1293-1294. The Story of KQW, About Doc Herrold and The Story of Doc Herrold (Ken Ackerman and Clancy Cassell with Jack Webb, Marty Cheek, Gordon Greb) (bayarearadio.org) 1875 births 1948 deaths American radio personalities American radio company founders People from San Jose, California People from Oakland, California People from Fulton, Illinois