The invention of the electric telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 became one of the greatest inventions ever. The presence of these electronic devices succeeded in replacing the telegraph as the only long-distance communication solution at that time. Through the handset, individuals can communicate in a much more practical way.
However, after more than a century the world has recognized Graham Bell as the mastermind behind this scintillating masterpiece, history needs to be renewed. Several names appear disputed, including Elisha Gray. In the end, on June 11, 2002, the United States Congress determined that Antonio Meucci was the inventor of the first telephone.
1. Italian scientist
Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci was born in Florence, Italy, in 1808 and was the son of Amatis Meucci and Domenica Pepi. He is the eldest of nine children. His father is a local government employee as well as a policeman, while his mother is a housewife.
When he was just 15 years old, Meucci was enrolled as the youngest student at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts. He majored in mechanical and chemical engineering. Due to limited funds, after the first two years of studying as a full-time student, he then continued his education while working as a local government customs officer.
Meucci then had the opportunity to work at the historic opera house in Florence, the Teatro della Pergola. The inventor worked as a stage technician. In this place, he met Esterre Mochi, a costume designer whom he later married on August 7, 1834.
2. The beginning of the invention of the telephone
In the same year, 1834, Meucci designed an acoustic pipe telephone as a medium of communication between the stage and the theater control room. However, the political situation in Italy that supported him and had thrown him in prison for three months made him and his wife migrate to Havana, Cuba, in 1835.
In 1844, having previously also been chief engineer at the Gran Teatro de Tacon, Havana, Meucci founded an electroplating company. He also continued to experiment until in 1848, the Italian man discovered a special interest in electricity in the treatment of pain.
It was only later in 1849, Meucci discovered the effect of electrophonic when treating a patient who had migraines. From here, Meucci then designed a device called the talking telegraph and became the forerunner of the telephone.
3. Experimental development
Meucci and his family moved to the United States in 1850 and remained in New York until the end of his life. To support his financial needs, he set up a beer and candle-making business.
However, his experiments on electromagnetic-based voice communication are still ongoing. Meucci succeeded in making voice calls over the wire in 1856. Until 1870, he also managed to develop more than 30 types of telephones based on the prototype he made.
Unfortunately, Meucci does not have financial support to continue developing his invention. His wax factory went bankrupt and in 1871, a fire broke out which made the situation even worse.
4. Patents and finance
Even so, in fact, Meucci’s spirit did not just fade away. On 12 December 1871 he made an agreement with Sereno GP Breguglia Tremeschin, Angelo Antonio Tremeschin, and Angelo Zilio Gandi founded the Telettronfo Company.
They were then prepared to apply for a patent on the invention. Due to limited funds, they can only use temporary patents. Unfortunately, the lawyer hired did not really understand the discovery that Meucci made. In short, in the temporary patent held, there is no information about electromagnetic-based sound transmission which is the essence of the invention.
The partnership that was carried out with the three people was disbanded. The absence of financial support also made Meucci only able to extend his patent rights until 1874. This was also exacerbated by his health condition which continued to deteriorate and again, needed funds for treatment.
Only two years later, in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell’s name appeared as the owner of a patent for an electromagnetic signal-based telephone innovation. The name of the scientist from Edinburgh, more than a century later, is known as the inventor of the telephone throughout the world.
That’s Meucci the name of the inventor of the telephone who died in 1889 at the age of 81 years due to illness he suffered. Hmmm … it turns out, the struggle to become a great scientist is not easy huh. So who do you think invented the real telephone?