American Broadcasting Company television. The fifth-oldest major broadcasting network in the world and the youngest of the Big Three television networks, ABC is often nicknamed as "The Alphabet Network", as its initialism also represents the first three letters of the English alphabet, in order. ABC launched as a radio network on October 12, 1943, serving as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, which had been purchased by Edward J. Noble. It extended its operations to television in 1948, following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks CBS and NBC. In the mid-1950s, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, a chain of movie
Edward J. Phelan Edward J. Phelan Edward Joseph Phelan (July 25, 1888 – September 15, 1967), frequently E. J. Phelan, was the first appointed international civil servant and fourth Director-General of the International Labour Office, serving from 1941 to 1948, during most of which time the ILO was temporarily relocated to Montréal from Geneva. Phelan was the principal author of the Declaration of Philadelphia. Edward Phelan was born in Tramore, County Waterford, on the south coast of Ireland. His father, Thomas, who came from nearby Cheekpoint was a ship's captain, as was his grandfather. When he was seven years of age his father