The Telephone

Several attempts at inventing the telephone are described, particularly the crucial contribution of Alexander Graham Bell. The invention was offered to Western Union but its managing director declined to accept the offer on the basis that he saw no future for the telephone. The head of the British Post Office, William Preece, had similar views. He believed that the availability of messenger boys will make the telephone unnecessary. Women’s employment prospects improved with the emergence of telephone exchanges. The growth in the telephone networks is shown graphically. Telephone broadcasting worked in Budapest for nearly four decades including the First World War.