The year 1917 in radio involved some significant events.

Events 6 April – The United States enters World War I and by presidential order all the country's radio stations are taken over for naval use. Edwin Howard Armstrong, working as a captain in the Signal Corps (United States Army) in Paris, perfects the eight-tube superheterodyne circuit. Radio San Paolo, the (Italian Navy) Radiotelegraphic Station, is established in Rome.

Births 20 March – Vera Lynn, English singer (d. 2020) 15 June – Charles Chilton, English radio presenter and producer (d. 2013) 6 SeptemberRichard Durham, author and producer of Destination Freedom (d. 1984)

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