
Johann Philipp Reis was the first inventor to produce an electromagnetic device that could transmit indistinct speech, musical notes, and occasionally distinct speech in 1860 by using electric signals. As a result, the technique was not able to transmit complex sounds or consonants. His description included “Make-or-break” signaling that was capable of transmitting tones and vowels, but did not follow the analog shape of the sound wave. He also published his ideas in Didaskalia on September 28 th, 1854. There were allegations of potential intellectual property theft against Alexander Graham Bell however, there are no substantiated records which would indicate his invention borrowed from Manzetti’s work.Ĭharles Bourseul, a French telegrapher, published a plan for conveying sounds and speech via electricity in the magazine, L’Illustration, in 1854. Manzetti did not patent his invention, but it was reported in the press in Paris at the time in the Le Petit Journal. Many Italians actually consider him to be the inventor of the telephone since he is purported to have provided his automaton the “power of speech” in 1864. Innocenzo Manzetti is credited with first considering the idea of what is known as a telephone today in 1844. He is credited with calling this effect, “galvanic music.” Innocenzo Manzetti During the test, Page, made the observation of the connecting and disconnecting of the current causing an audible ringing sound in the magnet. The inventors ranged the globe however, Bell proved to be the first to be able to combine technical and business prowess which resulted in the invention we all know as the telephone today! Charles Grafton PageĬharles Grafton Page, 1812-1868, lived in America and at the age of 25 was able to send electric current through a coil of wire that was set in between the two poles of a horseshoe magnet. There are number of early telephone pioneers who helped contribute technological advances to the field which culminated in Bell and Watson’s invention of the telephone in the later portion of the 1800s. By the end of the 19 th Century, the telephone would find commercial success and has significantly evolved over the past century +. Although Bell ultimately prevailed in the early signs of patent wars to come in the tech industry, there are a number of inventors who helped contributed technological and conceptual advancements that furthered telephone technology in this same timeframe. The invention of the telephone is credited to American Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson in the mid-to-late 19 th Century.
