A Tough Call on the Inventor of the Telephone

The history books will tell you that Alexander Graham Bell of Scotland invented the telephone. Alexander Bell won a patent dispute which would lead to the most valuable patent ever issued, the telephone. The patent on the telephone and the subsequent success of the device would lead to the creation of the world's largest monopoly, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Consider that for over a century, ATT, was referred to in our culture by the name of "Ma Bell" after the inventor of the device.

In fact, the first telephone call was on March 10, 1876 and the anniversary of that day is now only a few days away. The first telephone call has often been recreated in writing and in the movies. The first telephone call is sometimes recreated with Alexander Bell crying out "Watson, come here! I want to see you!" with Watson answering the call. That first telephone call is a well known part of American history and lore. The story would later be popularized by Hollywood when actor Don Amiche played the part of Alexander Graham Bell in a movie.

However, this nice, classic, Hollywood story about American history and the invention of the telephone overlooks the likely fact that Alexander Bell stole the entire telephone concept and its resulting patent from at least two other inventors. The reality is that the American telephone monopoly known as "Ma Bell" should really have been known as "Ma Grey" or "Ma Meucci".

An early version of the telephone was invented around 1860 by Antonio Meucci who called it Teletrofono. In 1860, Meucci organized a demonstration of a successful telephone in which a singer's voice was clearly heard by spectators a considerable distance away. The fact is that Meucci filed his first notice to take out a telephone patent in 1871, five years before Alexander Graham Bell's now infamous first telephone call.

Sadly, Meucci would eventually be cheated out of his invention. The sordid story includes "lost" Meucci filings by the United States patent office. The Meucci telephone device was also "lost" by Western Union as the inventor was trying to demonstrate the possibilities of his invention to them. Later investigation would produce evidence of illegal relationships linking certain employees of the Patent Office and officials of Alexander Bell's company. Eventually, in the course of litigation between Bell and Western Union, it was revealed that Bell had agreed to pay Western Union 20 percent of profits from commercialization of his "invention" for a period of 17 years. Certainly, conspiracy theorists would have a field day with this evidence.

Despite a public statement by the Secretary of State of the time that "there exists sufficient proof to give priority to Meucci in the invention of the telephone," and despite the fact that the United States initiated prosecution for fraud against Bell's patent, the actual trial was postponed every year until the death of Antonio Meucci in 1896. The government’s fraud case against Alexander Bell would eventually be dropped, securing Alexander Graham Bell's place in history as the inventor of the telephone.

Elisha Grey was another apparent victim of Alexander Bell. In Seth Shulman’s recent book, entitled “The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret”, Seth Shulman tells a story of shady lawyers and a corrupt patent examiner. The book describes Bell's dishonesty in securing the telephone patent as follows: “Bell furtively and illegally copied part of Elisha Gray's invention in the race to secure what would become the most valuable U.S. patent ever issued. And afterward, as Bell's device led to fame, he hid his invention's illicit beginnings.”

Over the years, the Bell Telephone Company would fight five lawsuits that reached the Supreme Court as well as five hundred and eighty eight lawsuits that posed various legal challenges over the rights to the telephone. It never lost a major case. However, over the years, the evidence has continued to increase that Alexander Graham Bell used his wealth and influence to illegally claim the right to the patent of the telephone and to be called its inventor.

On September 25, 2001, the United States House of Representatives through Resolution 269, recognized Antonio Meucci as the inventor of the telephone. The House Resolution reads, "that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the life and achievements of Antonio Meucci should be recognized, and his work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged."

The invention of the telephone is a murky tale of fraud, dishonesty, and corruption. Alexander Graham Bell used his wealth and political influence to secure the rights to a device that would change the world. In retrospect, both Antonio Meucci and Elisha Grey were victims of a long, sordid, costly legal process. The evidence now suggests that justice was not well served for either of these men. That's why even on its one hundred and thirty second anniversary, its still a tough call to recognize the real inventor of the telephone.