The Telephone

" . . . an inspired black-haired Scotsman of twenty eight, on the eve of marriage, vibrant and alive to new ideas." Alexander Graham Bell : The Life and Times of the Man Who Invented the Telephone

                                   

Invention of The Telephone

The history of the invention of the telephone is quite interesting. Although Alexander Graham Bell actually created the model of the telephone, the invention of the telephone was based on many other inventions of famous scientists. Johann Philipp Reis, a German scientist, was the first to come up with the idea of the transmission of sound through electricity. He also built an apparatus that could transmit sound, which is known as the Reis Telephone. The apparatus had many shortcomings and was not developed further. Antonio Meucci, an Italian scientist, also made an early version of the telephone and demonstrated it in Havana. He even filed for a patent for his model. Even today, Meucci is credited with the invention of the telephone by many.

The invention of the telephone grew out of improvements Bell had made to the telegraph. Bell's first telephone was granted on March 7, 1876. The first telephone company, Bell Telephone Company, was founded on July 9, 1877. After inventing the telephone, Bell continued his experiments in communication. He invented the photophone -transmission of sound on a beam of light. Bell als