Answers.com defines a telephone as: "An instrument that converts voice and other sound signals into a form that can be transmitted to remote locations and that receives and reconverts waves into sound signals." The word telephone is derived from the Greek language. The word tele, meaning afar, and phone, meaning voice.
Many inventors had brainstormed the idea of a telephone. In 1627 Francis Bacon actually described a working telephone in his book New Utopia. However this idea was unfathomable at the time. Like Leonardo Da Vinci and Jules Verne, Bacon was way ahead of his time for this invention. There was simply not enough knowledge about transmitting electric currents, and no set infrastructure to make the telephone a reality.
Like many inventions, the telephone was invented over the course of several years. The three major players involved in the development of the telephone are Alexander Gram Bell, Thomas Watson and Elisha Gray. However, only Alexander Gram Bell is credited with the actual development of the phone.
Both Alexander Gram Bell, and Elisha Gray rushed their ideas to the patent office to try and beat the other. Literally their applications showed up at the patent office within hours of each other. Bell was the first to reach the patent office and as a result is credited with the development of the telephone. Endless law suits between Bell and Gray continued over who was the rightful inventor of the telephone, and who owned and developed that technology.
History of the Telephone
The history of the telephone dates back to Bell’s research, which began around 1870. Initially he was working on ways to improve the telegraph, which had been used for over 30 years. At the time the telegraph was the primary form of long distance communication. It was the most reliable and accurate way to quickly transmit information. The telegraph used the Morse code system, which consisted of a series of dots and dashes. Morse code was effective, but limited conversations to one person sending or receiving at a time. Differing from the telephones we use today, where both users can talk at the same time, or interrupt one another.
The Harmonic Telegraph
The idea of a multiple telegraph had been brainstormed, but not actually built. A multiple telegraph would enable multiple messages to be sent through the same line, as long as the pitches of the signals were different. Bell had brainstormed this idea and began working on it. He called his version of the multiple telegraph the harmonic telegraph. For several years he continued to develop a functioning harmonic telegraph.
In 1874 Bell had begun to make significant improvements on his harmonic telegraph, however lacked the finical backing to continue his research. He reached out to his, at the time, future father in law. Famous Boston attorney Gardiner Greene Hubbard. Hubbard was a well-known and respected lawyer. He had great resentment for Western Union Telegraph Company because of the monopoly it had over the telegraph industry. Bell knew that his technology would rival Western Union Telegraph Company making Hubbard a sound investor. Teaming up with George Sanders, a well-known and respected businessman from Salem, Sanders and Hubbard foresaw the potential profits and success the harmonic telegraph could provide. Sanders researched patents and found out there was no patent on a multiple telegraph or anything similar. Realizing the market potential, Sanders and Hubbard agreed to provide the financial backing. Hubbard was personally involved with this project because he saw the invention of the harmonic telegraph as way to compete and destroy the Western Union Telegraph Company.
In 1875 Bell hired Thomas Watson to assist him in his research. Watson was an experienced machinist and would provide great insight and help towards the development of the harmonic telegraph. Bell and Hubbard continued to work on the telegraph, but by this time, Bell’s investors Hubbard and Sanders had seen Bell’s insight towards the telephone and were more interested in seeing the idea become a reality.
On March 1, 1875, Bell decided again he need to seek outside help for his invention. He traveled down to Washington DC where he met with famous inventor and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Joseph Henry. Henry was fascinated by Bell’s idea of the telephone and said, transferring speech electronically was the "germ of a great invention." Bell agreed, and expressed his lack of electrical knowledge as a major milestone to the development, Henry simply replied, "Get it!" Meaning don’t let your lack of electrical knowledge stop you from inventing something great.
Upon returning to Boston Bell had been inspired by Henry and focused most of his energy on developing the telephone; yet never let his idea of the harmonic telegraph die.
June 2, 1875, marked an important day for the development of the telephone. In efforts to test the harmonic telegraph, Bell again found it was not working. Instead of hearing silence, Bell heard the sound of Watson plucking a tuned spring. Confused and mesmerized by this recent discovery, Bell had accidentally created the first prototype telephone. Usually on a telegraph machine the current is either turned on or off, sending either silence or a beep. After studying their equipment Bell discovered that a contact screw was accidentally screwed too tight; causing the current to run continuously.
Understanding their recent discoveries, Bell had Watson develop the first telephone, which was later named the Gallows telephone. Named for its unique structure and use of a diaphragm rather then a spring. To their surprise the Gallows phone did not work. There was distortion in the line, and sounds coming through, but not speech.
Development of the Phone
On February 14, 1876 Bell, had not yet developed a working telephone but felt he could describe how the phone would work and applied for a patent. In 1870, the patent office had just ruled that inventors did not need to have a working invention to get a patent. Explaining how it would work, was cause enough for a patent. Coincidentally Bell’s request for a patent came only hours before Elisha Gray’s. Elisha Gray was another inventor who had been working on the development of the telephone. No one really knows how or why both patents were filed on the same day, but some think Bell was told of Gray’s invention, however this theory was never proven. Over 600 lawsuits followed challenging the rightful owner of the patent on the telephone.
On March 10,1876 Bell had developed the telephone. He used a liquid transmitter, an idea that he had never experimented before or placed in his patent. It was the idea that Gray had patented, and the cause of many lawsuits about to come.
Technology for the telephone continued to develop, while simultaneously a new industry had spun off, the telecom industry. Related technology was developed as a result of this invention, as well as an entire telephone system was deployed throughout the world.
Telephones Today
Today our telecom infrastructure has far surpassed the dream of Alexander Gram Bell and Thomas Watson. Calling to your neighbors, or the other side of the world is easy, affordable and possible from almost every house across America. The telecom industry has exploded with all different types of products making calling easier and cheaper. Today we have the telecom industry, which relies around Bell’s invention of the 1870’s. Common telecom products include prepaid phone cards, broadband phone systems, cell phones and more.
Bell’s patent from the United States Patent Office, number 174,465 is often considered the most important patent ever issued. It has enabled global communication and continued to help the process of globalization.
