While credit is typically awarded to Alexander Graham Bell (see main image) and his US patent in 1876, does the famous inventor deserve all the credit when it comes to who invented the telephone?
It’s long been the subject of debate, and the importance of scientists and inventors before Graham Bell – including Italian Antonio Meucci and German inventor Johann Philipp Reis – is often discussed.
Similar to the invention of the lightbulb (see: who invented the lightbulb?), it’s tricky to give any one person full credit for an innovation. There are various names and iterations of devices, with scientific breakthroughs leading to scientific breakthroughs until we get to the item that popularises the science and makes it viable for everyday and commercial use. W
Who invented the telephone?
Scottish engineer Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the telephone, patenting the world's first telephone on 7 March 1876.
On creating the telephone, Graham Bell called his assistant Thomas A Watson in the next room using another device. Graham Bell is reported to have said: “Mr Watson – come here – I want to see you.”
Without the work of various other scientists and inventors, however, this moment likely would not have happened. Many in Italy claim that it was in fact Antonio Meucci who invented the telephone and some in Germany insist it was Johann Philipp Reis.
In truth, it’s almost impossible to clearly pinpoint who actually invented the telephone. Bell certainly solved problems of earlier telephonic devices to give us the world’s first patented practical telephone, at least.
Other notable inventors of the telephone
Without the work of other pioneering scientists and inventors, Alexander Graham Bell would not have designed the telephone as he did in 1876. Various key players came before him and deserve big credit for the overall invention of the telephone.
Elisha Gray
Elisha Gray submitted a patent for the ‘speaking telegraph’ on 14 February 1876, the same day as Bell’s patent was filed. Bell was ultimately handed the patent ahead of Gray on 7 March 1876 but the two proposed inventions were remarkably similar.
Both Gray and Bell’s telephone technology was built on “similar descriptions of a liquid telephone transmitter (an early microphone)” as per Benjamin Lathrop Brown’s ‘The Bell versus Gray telephone dispute: resolving a 144-year-old controversy’, published in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers journal.
While there have been allegations of plagiarism on Bell’s part, Brown explains that “Bell’s and Gray’s engineering designs confirm that they invented their respective liquid transmitter telephones independently.” He adds that Bell was awarded the patent because “Bell’s attorneys had filed a few hours before Gray’s.”
Antonio Meucci
In Italy, the question of who invented the telephone is often answered by Antonio Meucci. Meucci was able to file a patent caveat for the talking telegraph in 1871 after first developing his idea as early as 1849 to help in medical situations.
His design didn’t feature the advancements that Alexander Graham Bell’s did but it was a working telephone. The Italian inventor was unable to keep up payment for his patent caveat and gave it up in 1874.
Bell conducted experiments on his own telephone in the same laboratory where Meucci stored his materials and was granted his patent just two years after Meucci gave his up due to a lack of funds.
There was a court battle over the two patents in 1887 before Meucci passed in 1889. The US government has now officially recognised his work and achievements in the invention of the telephone.
Johann Philipp Reis
German inventor Johann Philipp Reis developed the Reis telephone, which began life in 1857, some time before Alexander Graham Bell’s patent and around a similar time to Antonio Meucci’s work.
The Reis telephone was created in 1861 and was used by Thomas Edison during his development of the carbon microphone. Described as a ‘make and break’ circuit, Reis’s design ensured that continuous conversation wasn’t possible, something that Bell improved upon greatly with his invention.
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