Full Idea
Frege was the first to construct a plausible theory of meaning, that is, a theory of how a human language functions.
Gist of Idea
Frege was the first to construct a plausible theory of meaning
Source
report of Gottlob Frege (On Sense and Reference [1892]) by Michael Dummett - Thought and Reality 1
Book Reference
Dummett,Michael: 'Thought and Reality (Gifford Lectures)' [OUP 2006], p.10
A Reaction
Presumably Frege had an advantage because he was the first to distinguish sense from reference, and hence to identify the subject-matter of the theory. Essentially Frege's theory is that of truth-conditions.