Phone timeline

By jakobdv

  • Phone is patented

    Alexander Grahm bell patents the phone 2 hours before Elisha Grey

  • Patent goes through

    Bells patent goes through

  • First phone call

    Bells first successful call, where he says "Mr. Watson, come here! I want to see you!"

  • First long distance call

    First call to cover 6 miles, a very long distance at the time

  • First two way call

    Bell makes the first two-way long distance telephone call between Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts

  • First phone line

    First permenent telephone line made which goes from Boston to somerville, Massachusettes. Those phones were known as phones no.1 and 2 at the Bell Telephone Company.

  • Bell Telephone Company is established

    Bell Telephone Company is created by Alexander Graham Bell's future father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who becomes its first president.

  • Western Union is established by Thomas edison

    After making his own improvements to the telephone, Thomas Edison opens his own phone company to compete with bell. Boads well for Edison, but not for Bell

  • Bell sues Edison

    Bell sues western union for copyright infringment

  • Bell Telephone company nearly bankrupt

    Bell Telephone company is near bankruptcy due to Western Union

  • Bell telephone co merges with New England Telephone Co

    Bell telephone co merges with New England Telephone Co to form the National Bell Telephone Company. Theodore Vail takes over operations.

  • Francis Blake saves Bell telephone co!

    Francis Blake invents an upgrade to the telephone that saves bells company

  • National Bell Telephone merges with others

    National Bell Telephone merges with even more companies to form the American Bell Telephone Company.

  • First wireless transmission

    First wireless transmission occurs between Bell and partner, covers 213 meters

  • AT&T is created as part of bell company

    The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is put in charge of long distance transmission section of American Bell Telephone Company.

  • Government tries to remove bells master patent, fails

    The government tries to remove Bells master patent over the telephone, but the case is eventually dropped

  • AT&T takes over company

    AT&T becomes the overall holding company for all the Bell companies.