Who Invented the Telephone?

BOSTON, Mass. — “Mr. Watson, come here; I want to see you.” In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted those now-famous words electromagnetically over a wire to his assistant, Thomas Watson.

In an archived recording, Watson recalls that momentous occasion with awe: “During the months that we were working together on the telegraph, Bell often spoke to me of another invention he had in his mind. It was the telephone. I remember my surprise when he told me that expected soon to be able to talk by telegraph!”

Bell holds the patent for inventing the telephone but a new book casts doubt on his claim to fame. It’s called “The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell’s Secret” and the Massachusetts-based author, Seth Shulman, joins WBUR’s Bob Oakes to talk about it.