JCPL Teens

 1794 Claude Chappe, a French inventor, created the telegraph to warn of an invasion. It used two arms at the top of a tall tower with ropes and pulleys to move the arms into different positions. The towers were positioned 6-19 miles apart and the messages were read by telescope. 

 

1832 Morse code was invented by Samuel Morse. It is based on interrupting the flow of electricity so that a message could be heard. 

 

1892 Alexander Graham Bell opened the New York to Chicago telephone line.   Bell had created the first working telephone in 1876. In an interesting side note: Bell left school at the age of 14 to assist in the family business of teaching elocution, the art of public speaking.

 

1973 Dr. Martin Cooper created the cell phone. His first call was to his rival Joel Engel, head of Bell Laboratories. We’ve come a long way!