It is quite common to discover that the invention of an instrument or device is wrapped in economic and legal conflicts, fueled by positions with a certain nationalist essence in some cases, but few reached the magnitude of the telephone. 143 years later, the Bell-Gray dispute is far from being resolved, however, we must remember that there existed a third party in discord, whom many consider as the "true inventor" of the telephone. I mean the Italian Antonio Meucci.
Early Years and the Road to Havana
Born on April 13, 1808 in Florence (read Firenze, technically part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany), Antonio Meucci was the first of a family of nine siblings. At just 15 he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, becoming its youngest student, oriented to chemistry and mechanical engineering. His educational development was interrupted by lack of funds, but he was able to continue his studies by obtaining a job as a customs officer, and later as a stage technician at the Teatro della Pergola.
His relationship with acoustic devices began in 1834, when he built a kind of communications tube that connected the stage with the control room in the theater. There he met his future wife, costume designer Esterre Mochi. They married in August, but a little over a year later they moved to Havana (then a Spanish province), where he accepted a job at the Tacón Theater.
There he advanced in his experiments related to electricity, creating a primordial system of electroshocks to treat different conditions, and a "speaking telegraph" that served to hear weak voices. His adventure in Havana ended in 1850 due to certain ideological frictions with the Spanish government of the time, and other limits to his progress as an inventor. His final destination would be Staten Island, a city he arrived at barely speaking English, and where he spent the rest of his life.
The Telettrofono and the Downward Spiral
In that place he dedicated himself to helping other compatriots who defended the movement of reunification in Italy, and invested a good part of his savings in a tallow candle factory, where he employed Italian exiles. His wife fell ill with rheumatoid arthritis, but Meucci continued with his experiments, and made a device in his home (connecting the master bedroom on the second floor with his laboratory) very similar to a telephone that allowed him to stay in contact with Esterre.
https://old.neoteo.com/ladislao-biro-el-inventor-del-boligrafo/Things got worse for Meucci from 1861. The maneuvers of some swindlers (and poor financial decisions on his part) led him to bankruptcy, living on the help of his friends, and on the financial assistance of a certain William E. Ryder, who was very interested in his experiments. It was in August 1870 that supposedly Meucci managed to capture a human voice transmission at a mile distance, using as a medium a copper plate insulated with cotton, the "Telettrofono". All he needed was a prototype and a patent, but Meucci was trapped in the explosion of a boiler of the Westfield ferry, suffering several injuries. Added to this was the discovery that his wife had sold several of his previous designs and prototypes due to his extreme financial situation.
However, he did not give up. He managed to raise the minimum of 20 dollars (with the support of the secretary of the Italian consulate in New York and two businessmen) to present in December 1871 a "notice" or "consideration" on his patent, since he could not pay the full amount. Some later analyses of this consideration suggest that it could never have become a patent due to the absence of technical details, but the point is that its mere existence precedes Bell's patent by five years.
The Grant Affair
In 1872, Meucci came into contact with Edward B. Grant, vice president of the American District Telegraph (other sources cite Western Union, but this would be incorrect), and asked permission to test his device on the company's telegraph lines. He presented a description of his prototype and a copy of the consideration, but after waiting for two years, Grant told him that they had "misplaced" all the material (with rumors of theft or sabotage). In December 1874, the consideration for the Telettrofono expired (some say he could not pay it, others that he invested his limited funds in secondary patents). In 1876, Bell received his famous patent, and all subsequent efforts to recognize his work were in vain.
https://old.neoteo.com/john-pemberton-inventor-de-coca-cola/A Belated Recognition
It was not until 2002, when the House of Representatives approved Resolution 269, formally recognizing "his work on the invention of the telephone". Of course, the dispute remains open. Ten days after R.269, the House of Commons of Canada unanimously recognized Alexander Graham Bell as inventor of the telephone (remember that Bell lived and died in that country).
