The Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. He was a teacher of the deaf in Boston.

At night, he worked on experiments using a telegraph. Once, when the metal in the telegraph stuck, Bell’s assistant plucked the metal to loosen it. Bell, who was in another room, heard the sound in his receiver. He understood that the vibrations of the metal had traveled down the electric current to the receiver, and he continued to work on this idea.

March 10, 1876, was the first time Alexander Graham Bell successfully spoke words over a telephone line. He was about to test a new transmitter when he spilled some battery acid on his clothes. He cried out to his assistant, who was in another room, "Mr. Watson, come here! I want you!" Watson heard every word clearly on the telephone and rushed into the room.

Bell demonstrated his invention to many people. Over time, more and more telephone lines were installed, and people began to use the invention in their homes and businesses.