While Alexander Graham Bell is widely credited with inventing the telephone and making the first call on March 10, 1876, to his assistant Thomas Watson, the history is more nuanced. The device he patented wasn't the very first attempt at a telephone.
Early Telephone Attempts: The Reis Telephone
Philipp Reis constructed a device in 1861, now referred to as the Reis telephone. While it transmitted sound, it wasn't capable of clear speech transmission like Bell's later invention. Therefore, it's not generally considered the first telephone in the modern sense.
Alexander Graham Bell's Telephone
Bell's invention, patented in 1876, is the device most associated with the first practical telephone. His success stemmed from improvements in the transmission of speech, leading to a device capable of practical communication. While not the absolute first attempt, it became the first commercially successful telephone and established the foundation for modern telephony. There is documentation of the first call which occurred on March 10th, 1876.
Different Types of "First Calls"
It's important to distinguish between different types of "first calls":
- First successful voice transmission: This is generally attributed to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876.
- First mobile phone call: This belongs to Martin Cooper, who made the first cellular phone call in 1973. This is a significantly later development than the first wired telephone.
- First conceptual telephone: As noted above, the Reis telephone predates Bell's, but its capabilities were significantly less advanced.
Therefore, the answer to "What was the first phone called?" depends on the context:
- If referring to the first commercially successful and widely adopted telephone: It was simply called a telephone, and it was the model patented by Alexander Graham Bell.
- If referring to an earlier, less successful prototype: It was called the Reis telephone.
