The period you're describing is that of old quantum theory, which was hugely inconsistent and predates our theories of modern quantum mechanics which is post 1925 or so.

The inventor of the arc converter was 18 at the time radio waves were discovered, 34 at the time he invented the arc converter, but 56 and with only 17 years left till his death when the era of modern quantum mechanics started with the invention of wave mechanics. It's a lifetime apart.

Some discoveries were made during that period that are of course still relevant.

(Not to mention that the hydrogen line was only discovered in 1951, as a result of years of hearing it using radio equipment invented half a century prior. Even things as basic as the proton took until 1932 to discover.)