The Invention of the Telephone
In the nineteenth century, the invention of the telegraph made it possible to send noises, signals, and even music over wires from one place to another. However, the human voice
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this way. Many inventors tried to find a
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to send a voice over wires, and in 1876 some of their efforts were crowned with success.
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American inventors, Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray,
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at almost the same time. The United States Supreme Court finally had to decide which of the two
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the first inventor of the telephone. The Court decided
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Bell"s favor.
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Bell grew up in a family
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was very interested in teaching people to speak. His grandfather had been an actor who left
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to teach elocution; his father was a teacher
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deaf-mutes learn how to speak.
However, probably none of the
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inventions gave Bell the same feeling of triumph
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he had on the day when he spilled some acid from his batteries. It was after he had worked for months to find ways to send something more
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metallic twangs over the wires. Thinking Watson,
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, was in the next room, Bell called, "Mr. Watson,
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I want you." Watson was not in the next room. He was down in his laboratory,
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to the receiver. To Watson"s surprise, he heard the words perfectly. He ran to tell Bell the news. the wires had carried Bell"s voice perfectly.