The Invention of the Telephone

Many people in this day and age have always known what a telephone is. The younger generations especially have not had a time without them. However, while there are now smartphones- there used to just be landlines and flip phones.

Going way back to the 1800's, the telegraph was invented in the 1830's-1840's. This device was monumental for the spread of information around the world. The science behind it was that the telegraph was a system that used a battery to supply an electrical current. This means that when a message would be sent via electrical current, it would be received by a magnet that would move an armature. This armature would them transmit the signals through a series of dots and dashes. This is now known as Morse Code. 

By knowing this information on the telegraph, it helps to understand how the telephone developed from this. The telegraph was an amazing invention that made the delivery of messages easier for long distances; however, there were many downsides. A few of them include lost transmissions, cost (only four words were free, so long messages cost a lot of money), the lack of overseas communication, and only one message could be transmitted at a time.

Alexander Graham Bell

This leads us now to the invention of the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell- who is credited widely as the true inventor of the telephone- first started working on his invention by creating a "harmonic telegraph." This was an improvement from the original telegraph because it could transmit multiple messages at one time. The next year, Bell discovered that his tuned reeds- the ones he used in his harmonic telegraph- could transmit and receive complex sounds. This was the basis for his invention of the telephone.

The First Telephone

Bell and his partner- Thomas Watson- came up with a receiver that could turn electricity into sound in 1875. The very next year, on February 14, 1876, Bell's lawyers submitted the original patent for the telephone to the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. Bell was soon granted the patent- which is US Patent 174465A- on March 7, 1876. Three days after this patent was published- on March 10, 1876- Bell made the first ever telephone call to his assistant- Watson. This phone call is famously remembered as being "Mr. Watson, come here- I want to see you."After this first phone call, Bell soon returned to his original "magneto" transmitters and receivers that he used in his harmonic telegraph. He used these to develop practical designs of the telephone. 

Elisha Gray

Antonio Meucci

However, there were other inventors of the telephone that either were not credited or whose patent expired. Firstly, Italian inventor Antonio Meucci demonstrated the electromagnetic transmission of his voice in 1856- 20 years before Bell did. However, Meucci's patent expired when he did not renew it in 1874. Secondly, there was an American inventor- Elisha Gray- who worked at the same time as Bell. Gray worked on the "telephony" and submitted a patent on the same day as Bell. However, Gray's was received later, therefore Bell's patent got approved.

As for the impact, telephones have evolved through the years. They have also changed the way that humans communicate with each other. As well as becoming the primary source for news and media. When looking specifically at the most notable changes that the telephone has undergone, it is necessary to recognize that many different people from different countries have contributed to the change.

In 1892, the most popular version of the telephone was used in hotels and was the Western Electric folding cabinet. In 1905, the most popular was the Chicago upright desk set. One of the most popular forms of the telephone- the Rotary Phone- was extremely popular in the 1940's. The first commercial line of mobile phones came out in 1983 from Motorola. The first camera phone from Sharp came out in 2000. In 2007, one of the most popular phone brands today- Apple- came out with the first iPhone. Speaking of today, the most popular phone brands consist of Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel, as well as Motorola.

Popular Phone's Today

In conclusion, the invention of the telephone is one of the biggest inventions of technology. Not only is it used by so many people, but it has changed how the world goes about communication and news. It went from being not practical at all, to being one of the most practical pieces of technology now.