14 févr. 1876 - Patent for the telephone was granted to Alexander Graham Bell

Description:

Three days after Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone, he and his associate Thomas Watson tested the device out successfully. Elisha Gray, Antonio Meucci and Thomas Edison all claim to have invented it already, however, and the issue still causes a great deal of controversy. Bell created an early model of the telephone with the help of electrician Thomas Watson. On February 14, 1876, knowing that an Oberlin College teacher named Elisha Gray was close to finishing a similar device, Bell filed for a patent just hours before Gray filed for a patent caveat, which is a preliminary step to reserve the right for a patent. On March 10, he was granted patent 174,465 for “The method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically, as herein described, by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sounds, substantially as set forth.” During his life, Bell was presented with over 600 patent lawsuits, however, the courts continually ruled that he was the original inventor of the telephone.