Tour of the Bell Homestead, Brantford:

Invention of the Telephone:

Chronology by Alexander Graham Bell
 

Conclusion of an article from CTGA of Toronto Newsletter:

 

The chronology of the invention of the telephone, to say nothing of the locations involved, often gets misinterpreted due to inaccurate or abbreviated historical accounts. Fortunately, a proper chronology (photograph on the right) exists in Bell’s own handwriting at the Bell Homestead. It is printed out below:

 

  • Invention of the telephone at Tutela Heights, Brantford, Summer of 1874
     

  • First telephone constructed and speech and sounds heard, Boston, June 1875
     

  • First draft of the telephone patent specifications prepared, Brantford, September 1875
     

  • Complete sentences first clearly understood by telephone, Boston, March 10, 1876
     

  • Telephone exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, June 25, 1876
     

  • First attempts to transmit speech over telegraph lines, Boston, July 7, 9 & 12, 1876
     

  • First successful attempt to transmit speech over a telegraph line, Brantford, August 1876
     

  • First public demonstration of ability to speak over a telegraph line, Brantford, 1876
     

  • First transmission of a number of voices simultaneously over a telegraph line, Brantford, 1876
     

  • First conversation by telephone over telegraph line, Boston, October 9, 1876
     

  • First long-distance conversation over a telegraph line (143 miles), Boston, December 3, 1876
     

  • First newspaper dispatch sent by telephone, Salem (Mass.), February 12, 1877
     

  • First telephone line opened, Boston, April 4, 1877
     

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The chronology of the invention of the telephone in Bell’s own handwriting hangs on the wall at the Bell Homestead. It is printed out to your left.