2-358-677 - Keystone Archives/Heritage Images

Alexander Graham Bell telephones Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1876. Bell produced the first intelligible telephone transmission on 5 June 1875. He patented the device as the telephone in 1876, beating rival inventor Elisha Gray, who had invented his own version, to the US patent office by just 2 hours. Bell embarked on a series of public demonstrations of his invention to introduce it to the scientific community and the general public.