Bell Receives Patent: The Telephone Era Begins
Alexander Graham Bell secured the first US patent for the electric telephone in March 1876, establishing a master patent that legally and commercially dominated the industry while outlasting fierce disputes with contemporaries like Elisha Gray. This legal victory enabled Hungarian engineer Tivadar Puskás to invent the telephone switch later that same year, which directly facilitated the creation of telephone exchanges and the first interconnected networks.
March 7, 1876
150 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on March 7
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