upper waypoint

What Does KQED Stand For?

Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

What does KQED stand for?

A lot of people wonder what "KQED" stands for.  The short answer?

K is the call letter used by West Coast stations — and Q.E.D is a acronym for the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, used at the end of arguments to mean "thus it has been demonstrated."

The longer version, via our Help Center...

"In 1952, Alameda County Schools Superintendent Vaughn Seidel and associates pressed the FCC to set aside 273 TV stations across the country for educational use. They incorporate as Bay Area Educational Television Association (BAETA). Too late, they discover that California state law doesn't allow schools to employ television for instruction.

"Undaunted, BAETA set up temporary offices in co-founder Jon Rice's station wagon in 1953. Somewhere around this time, co-founder Jim Day's wife, Beverly, dreams up call letters "KQED," an acronym for the Latin quod erat demonstrandum ('which was to be demonstrated').

Sponsored

"In 1954, KQED goes on the air. (Every station's first call letter was designated by the Federal Government, using W for stations east of the Mississippi, K for stations west.)"

lower waypoint
next waypoint