Who Invented the First Phone?
Did you know that the phone was the first telecommunications device? Essentially, it was an electronic device that allowed two people to speak to each other when they were too far apart to hear each other directly. Alexander Graham Bell, Philipp Reis, and Thomas A. Watson were the three main inventors, but there were several others who played a significant role. Find out more about their contributions in this article. And don’t forget to vote in the poll!
Alexander Graham Bell
The phone was invented by a man named Alexander Graham Bell. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Bell was the first to secure a patent for the device. While teaching the deaf in Canada, Bell came up with the idea of transmitting sound signals through an electrical line. Bell, who was deaf from childhood, patented the invention and started his first telephone company in 1877. During his lifetime, Bell held more than 18 patents and is the most successful inventor of the telephone.
In 1877, Bell married his wife, Mable, and traveled to Europe to show his new invention. In 1878, Bell was summoned to Washington, D.C., to defend his patent, as others had claimed to have invented the telephone. Although the Bell Company was forced to endure several patent battles and even a Supreme Court challenge, he managed to expand the business and his empire. The phone changed the world in a variety of ways, and many historians believe that Bell had no idea he was patenting until it was too late.
Bell was born in 1842 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Alexander Melville Bell, taught elocution to the deaf people. His father was a well-known authority on elocution. His uncle taught speech therapy to the deaf, and his father was an authority on elocution. After graduating from school, Bell was expected to continue his father’s work. After his brothers died of tuberculosis, Bell withdrew from college and immigrated to Canada.
Throughout his life, Bell was obsessed with the invention of the telephone. His passion for the project led him to work with his father and an assistant named Watson. His father had taught him about multiple telegraphs, but he told his future father-in-law, Joseph Hubbard, about the idea. Hubbard was resentful of the monopoly owned by the Western Union Telegraph Company, and saw the potential to disrupt the company and create a new way to communicate with the world. Hubbard also gave Bell financial backing for his project, which resulted in the first phone.
After achieving success in the Philadelphia World Exhibition, Bell continued to market his telephone and demonstrated the device to people in various settings. He was also a savvy businessman and took advantage of opportunities to promote his new product and sell it. His telephone was successful in the early days, and he even sold shares to the Emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro II. In addition to a Philadelphia exhibit, Bell was able to demo the telephone to the judges. The device became popular after the invention, and he even installed the first telephone in his own private residence in Dom Pedro’s Petropolis palace.
Besides the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell also invented many devices. He created several sonic technologies, including the photophone and Graphophone. He also made significant contributions to medical technology. After the tragic shooting of actor Garfield in 1921, he developed an electrical bullet probe after the incident. Later, he focused his attention on aerial technology, and he founded the Aerial Experiment Association in 1907.
Philipp Reis
According to some historians, Philipp Reis is the inventor of the first phone. He predates the work of Edison and Bell, but is not credited for his work. While Reis deserves credit for the invention, he has to share credit with his fellow inventors. This is why we’ve chosen to honor Reis’s work instead of focusing on Bell and Hughes. If you’d like to read a biography about Reis, please visit the following website:
Reis first built a telephone prototype in 1858, four years after Bourseul published his paper. His prototype was an ear-like acoustic structure terminated in a tympanum. Electric current would flow through a slender S-shaped rod to transmit speech. The coil, six inches long, was wound onto a knitting needle and was set in a violin case, which acted as a sounding board.
Although Reis did not intend for his device to become a commercial success, he continued to work on it for several years and eventually presented it to the Frankfurt Physics Association in 1861. Unfortunately, his lecture did not receive the enthusiastic response he’d hoped for. Despite these setbacks, fifty copies of Reis’ telephone were manufactured in 1865 and 1866. However, they didn’t have enough practicality to be a commercial success, and Reis died in 1877 of tuberculosis.
Reis’ first telephone proved to be a hit in Europe, but his celebrity lasted only a short time. It was considered a curiosity by scientists of the day, and Reis eventually renounced his membership in the Physical Society of Frankfurt-am-Main. In 1868, the Free German Institute of Frankfurt ridiculed Reis’ phone as a “philosophical toy.”
Reis’ research on an artificial ear began in 1852. Reis’ first prototype of a telephone was built in a backyard shed. A violin case served as the resonator, while a sausage casing acted as the mouthpiece. Reis eventually attached a platinum strip to the back of the diaphragm, replacing the hammer bone of the human ear. His early prototypes of the phone are still used today.
Reis spent his spare time studying mathematics and physics. He attended lectures on mechanics at his local trade school. After graduating, he moved to Frankfurt to study at the Institute of Dr. Poppe. There he studied French, mathematics, physics, and geography. His interest in science grew, and he eventually became an elementary school teacher. The phone he invented was named the first “revolutionary telephone.”
In 1860, Reis created a device that used a membrane and a movable lever to convert sound into electrical oscillations. Reis did not intend for his device to be anything more than a philosophical toy. Reis’ patent allows for a wide range of devices and he authorized numerous copies for lecture demonstrations. This invention was a great leap forward for the world of telecommunications.
Thomas A. Watson
During the 1870s, Alexander Graham Bell was working on a multiple message telegraph system when he heard the sound of a spring being plucked over 60 feet of wire. He thought that he could send a human voice over the wire with this device, and he enlisted the help of gifted mechanic Thomas A. Watson, who spent many nights perfecting Bell’s ideas. On March 7, 1876, Bell patented his simple current transmission. Five days later, Bell was able to transmit actual human speech. His assistant in another room listened to what he was saying and understood what he was saying.
After achieving his dream of building a telephone, Watson set up a machine shop in Boston to make steam engines for small ships. By 1894, his company had 30 employees, and he had grown to be one of the largest shipyards in the United States. However, two years later, he was replaced by another company and he remained out of the telephone business for another two years. In 1915, Watson died in Florida.
After the Bell Telephone Company bought the patents, Watson left the company in 1881. He used his newfound wealth to travel around Europe and married his family. He then set up his own machine shop and took bids for building naval destroyers. Watson’s business grew to become a major shipyard during the First World War. His invention would become the basis for many other devices, such as satellites and cell phones.
Although Watson was the sidekick of Alexander Graham Bell, he is often thought of as the inventor of the first phone. The invention has been attributed to many people, but Watson deserves recognition as the man who invented the device. Thomas A. Watson is one of the most important men in the history of the telephone. His contributions to the telephone industry amount to more than a half-dozen patents. During his lifetime, he helped American Bell gain its position in the market.
The first phone call was made 140 years ago. Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant, Thomas Watson, helped Bell complete the first telephone call. Watson wanted to make the call as dramatic as possible, so he embellished its purpose and circulated a rumor that Bell was calling him to report an acid spill. In fact, the first long-distance phone call was completed. And, today, a telephone is the most popular device on the planet.
Before the invention of the telephone, Watson and Bell had met and collaborated. Watson and Bell became friends and became partners. In 1876, Bell’s assistant Thomas A. Watson was the one who first listened to Alexander Graham Bell’s words. As a result, they developed a method of making telephone calls. Today, a phone can be heard in every household, no matter where the person is. And, thanks to Watson’s persistence and hard work, it remains an indispensable tool for communication.