L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano Pronto! Antonio Meucci, the man who really invented the phone ELIZABETH SALTHOUSE O n June 11th 2002 the United States House of Representatives righted a wrong that had persisted for over 130 years. They passed a resolu- tion honoring Antonio Meucci, an Italian migrant who lived in Staten Island, for his key contri- bution to the invention of the tele- phone. But to this day, his name is still overshadowed by Alexander Graham Bell's. So who was Meucci and did he real- ly invent the first telephone? Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci Born on 13 th April 1808 near Florence, Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci was the eldest of nine children. He was a talented stu- dent with an inquisitive mind entering Florence's Academy of Fine Arts to study physics, chem- istry and mechanical engineering aged just 15. After just two years Meucci was forced to take a part time job working for the Florentine government to fund his studies. This wouldn't be the last time that Meucci's life took a turn due to lack of funds. His keen insight was perfectly suited to science and by eighteen he had already invented a new chemical propellant for fireworks. A job in theatrical special effects beckoned at Florence's Quarconia Theater. And from there he quickly moved on to the Teatro della Pergola opera house, one of the most technologically advanced theatres in Italy at the time. It's here that Antonio took his first steps to create the tele- phone. Sound inventions Meucci loved to play around with the electromagnetic machines used to generate light- ning effects, he even had a small lab in his rooms up in the the- atre's loft. And ever a problem- solver, the young scientist decid- ed to tackle a bugbear of the stagehands; how to communicate across the large stage to co-ordi- nate scenery changes safely. Meucci quickly developed a sound amplifier like a mega- phone, halving the time taken to change scenes and laying the groundwork for more inventions. Off to Cuba Italian opera was widely held as the best in the world, so when the chance came to move to Cuba with the Pergola opera company, Meucci and his new costume tailor wife, Ester, jumped. The company set- tled in the Teatro Tacón in 1835, now the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso and home to the Cuban National Ballet. Antonio worked as the mechanical supervisor and Havana would see the next big breakthrough in Meucci's telephonic work. Antonio continued his experimentation in Havana, gaining a reputation as one of the few scientists devel- oping new electrical tech- nologies. And in 1848 he was approached by a small group of doctors keen to explore electricity's medical appli- cations. This would prove pivotal. Meucci's electri- cal shock therapy required patients to put a metallic tongue in their mouths. And it was during one of his experiments that he realised that electricity could be used to transmit sound along a wire as when a patient cried out Meucci heard it in another room via the apparatus's copper wiring. That moment was the inspira- tion for his talking telegraph, telegrafo parlante, teletrofono or the telephone that would change the world. Pronto! Meucci knew he had something unique and immediately started work on voice transmission. And with- in 2 years he'd decided to emi- grate again, this time to New York, to capitalize on his work just as A m e r i c a n Samuel Morse had recently done with his morse code tele- g r a p h i c LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE system. The cou- ple settled in Clifton on Staten Island in 1850. And the experiments contin- ued in the basement lab. But tragedy struck 4 years after their arrival when Ester fell victim to rheuma- toid arthritis and was confined to bed. Despite the blow, Meucci was spurred on and in 1857 he set up the first working voice transmission equipment between his basement workshop and his wife's bedroom so he could communicate with his beloved Ester. Meucci spent the next 12 years building several proto- types but crucially lacked the personal funds to patent, pro- tect or commercialize his idea; patents cost money. So instead he publicized his invention through in March 1889 without ever capitalizing on his invention or receiving any recognition for his contribution to technology, despite attempts to reclaim credit through court action against Bell. It would take more than a century for that wrong to be righted. And although some still argue that Bell's inventions were f u n d a m e n t a l l y d i f f e r e n t t o M e u c c i ' s , t h e I t a l i a n w a s undoubtedly developing voice t r a n s m i s s i o n s y s t e m s l o n g b e f o r e B e l l w a s e v e n b o r n . Whether Meucci would have succeeded with financial back- ing we'll never know, but clear- ly he was well ahead of his con- temporaries for years and just pipped at the final post. So next time your phone rings remember w e o w e a t l e a s t s o m e o f t h e o r i g i n a l t e c h n o l o g y t o a F l o r e n t i n o c a l l e d A n t o n i o Meucci. Grazie Antonio! Italo-American newspaper L'Eco d'Italia in an attempt to drum up financers but sadly it did little to protect his product and may even have given his trade secrets to his rivals. Antonio wouldn't lodge a patent caveat to announce his invention until December 1871. And once again lack of funds was an issue; the caveat lapsed after just 2 years leaving the door open for the Scottish gentleman inven- tor Alexander Graham Bell to lodge a patent for his "phonau- tograph" in 1875. And crucially the Scot had the one thing that Meucci lacked; funds. Within a year Bell had set up the Bell Telephone Company going on to become a millionaire as voice transmission took off. Meucci on the other hand died

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