There was a thread about radio and I just saw this info this morning.
Edwin Armstrong: A Static-Free Radio
As PBS reported, Edwin Armstrong's quest to eliminate radio static led him to develop a circuit that made FM radio possible. But since the radio industry didn't want to create new infrastructure to replace the existing AM band, RCA shelved his invention after he unveiled it in 1933.
Although patent lawsuits with RCA and battles with regulators the company had in its pocket destroyed Armstrong's life, his work would set a new standard for radio broadcasting after his 1954 death.