What “first autism” means here
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Term “autism” (as a symptom): coined by Eugen Bleuler in Zurich (Burghölzli) while defining schizophrenia (1910–1911). This was an adult psychiatric symptom, not a childhood diagnosis. PMC+1
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Earliest child descriptions matching modern ASD: Grunya E. Sukhareva (Moscow) published a six-boy cohort in 1925 (Russian), followed by a German paper in 1926—predating Kanner (1943) and Asperger (1944) by nearly two decades. Modern reviews map her notes closely to DSM-5 ASD. PMC+2PubMed+2
Berlin region (Germany): from military experiments → mass broadcast
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Experimental/military radio: At Königs Wusterhausen (Funkerberg), the German Army’s signal corps began radio experiments in 1911, scaling up to a military station by 1915–1916 (Senderhaus 1). Museum Funkerberg+1
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Long-range telegraphy: Nauen longwave station (Telefunken) founded April 1, 1906; it became Germany’s global radiotelegraph hub, especially after WWI cable cuts. Arcanum Urbex+1
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First public broadcast: 22 Dec 1920 Christmas concert from Königs Wusterhausen—often marked as the birth of German broadcasting; official Berlin service Funk-Stunde launched 29 Oct 1923. Museum Funkerberg+1
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Electrification context (Berlin): households with electricity ≈ 5% (1914) → ~25% (1925) → ~50% (1929)—a steep 1920s surge. Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM)
Moscow (Russia/USSR): pre-Shukhov military power → on-air → Sukhareva
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Pre-broadcast military/strategic radio: A 300 kW spark radiostation was rushed up on Khodynka Field (Moscow) in 1914; it went on air 7 Dec 1914, transmitting on 7,000–11,000 m wavelengths (longwave). This was a heavy-power, state/military installation, not public broadcasting. Wikipedia
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Public broadcasting: The Shukhov (Shabolovka) Tower was built 1920–1922, with first broadcasts on 19 Mar 1922; it became the emblematic Moscow transmitter. Wikipedia+1
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Electrification: The national GOELRO plan (approved Dec 1920) launched centralized electrification across the RSFSR. Seventeen Moments in Soviet History+1
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Autism-like cases: 1925/1926—Sukhareva’s child cohort appears in this newly on-air, rapidly electrifying city; later English access via Sula Wolff’s translation made her priority widely recognized.
Putting the alignment on one line per city
| City/Region | Earliest high-power/military radio | First public broadcasting | Electrification milestone | Earliest ASD-like description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin area (Königs Wusterhausen & Nauen) | 1911 military experiments at Windmühlenberg; 1916 station in service; Nauen longwave 1906 (global radiotelegraphy) | 22 Dec 1920 Christmas concert (KW); 1923 Funk-Stunde Berlin | Berlin homes: ~5% (1914) → 25% (1925) → 50% (1929) | — (no local child cohort published then) Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM)+4Museum Funkerberg+4GFGF Online Archive+4 |
| Moscow | Khodynka Field spark station 300 kW, on air 7 Dec 1914 (state/military) | Shukhov Tower broadcasting 19 Mar 1922 | GOELRO plan launched 1920 | Sukhareva 1925/1926 (boys cohort; DSM-5 overlap) PMC+3Wikipedia+3Moscow City Services+3 |
What this does show
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It gives you a temporal sequence where high-power radio infrastructure (often military first) and rapid electrification precede the earliest child-level autism-like descriptions—especially clear in Moscow (1914 Khodynka → 1922 on-air → 1925/26 Sukhareva). In Germany, military & long-range capability (1906–1916) and public broadcasting (1920–23) unfold during the same decade that urban electrification rates spike, aligning with the window just before autism’s modern clinical formulation (Kanner 1943).