Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci (April 13, 1808 – October 18, 1896) was an Italian inventor; he is credited as the inventor of the telephone. In June 2002, Meucci was officially credited by the United States House of Representatives with the invention of the telephone, instead of Alexander Graham Bell. April 13 is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A telephone handset A touch-tone telephone dial Telephone Complex relay used in a telephone switching system. ... The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847–August 2, 1922) was a scientist, inventor, and founder of the Bell Telephone Company, known as the father of the telephone. ...

Biography

Meucci was born in San Frediano, a borough of Florence. He studied chemical and mechanical engineering at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts and later worked in theatres as a stage technician. He married costume designer Ester Mochi on August 7, 1834. He was alleged to be part of a conspiracy involving the Italian unification movement in 1833–1834, and was imprisoned for three months. Location within Italy Giglio di Firenze - symbol of the city Florence (Italian, Firenze) is a city in the center of Tuscany, in central Italy at 43°46′ N 11°15′ E. The city on the Arno River has a population of around 400,000, plus a suburban population in excess... Chemical engineering is the application of science, mathematics and economics to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms. ... The Ford Essex V6 engine Mechanical engineering is the application of physical principles to the creation of useful devices, objects and machines. ... August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

In October 1835, Meucci and his wife left Florence, never to return. They emigrated to the Americas, stopping first in Cuba, where Meucci accepted a job at Gran Teatro de Tacòn in Havana. 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ... Havana (Spanish: San Cristóbal de La Habana) is the capital of Cuba and, with a population of 2. ...

In 1850, Meucci and his wife immigrated to the United States, settling in the Clifton area of Staten Island, New York, where he lived for the remainder of his life. 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Staten Island, shown in an enhanced satellite image Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located on an island of the same name on the west side of the Narrows at the entrance of New York Harbor. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, and is at the center of international finance, politics, communications, music, fashion, and culture. ...

Meucci constructed a form of telephone around 1854 as a way to connect his second-floor bedroom to his basement laboratory, as his wife was an invalid suffering from rheumatism. Before then he had constructed a kind of pipe-telephone (that transported sound through a pipe) as a way to communicate between the stage and control room at the theatre. A telephone handset A touch-tone telephone dial Telephone Complex relay used in a telephone switching system. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Though his assets had been substantial, they were quickly used up in the United States. Not only was Meucci helping his countrymen to reach America, but there was also an expensive accident in one of his laboratories. His private finances dwindled so that he soon had to live on public funds and by depending on his friends. It has also been said that his wife sold some of his inventions, including the telephone, to raise cash.

Patents

Besides electric voice transferral, he invented and patented many devices, based on chemical and mechanical processes.

Recognition

For more than one century, everywhere but in Italy, Bell has been considered the inventor of the telephone. Meucci was recognised as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States House of Representatives, in House Resolution 269, dated 11 June 2002. The Parliament of Canada retaliated by passing a bill recognising Canadian immigrant Alexander Graham Bell as the only inventor of the telephone. The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) is Canadas legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. ...

See also

• Philipp Reis
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Telephone

Johann Philipp Reis (January 7, 1834 -- January 24, 1874), was born in Gelnhausen, Germany, as son to a Jewish baker. ... Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847–August 2, 1922) was a scientist, inventor, and founder of the Bell Telephone Company, known as the father of the telephone. ... A telephone handset A touch-tone telephone dial Telephone Complex relay used in a telephone switching system. ...

Further Reading

• Gerry Vassilatos Lost Science (ISBN 0945685254, possible excerpt, review)
• Scientific American Supplement No. 520, December 19, 1885
• Summary and status of Resolution 269