First telephone, Alexander Graham Bell
In the 1870s, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell independently designed devices that could transmit speech electrically. Both men rushed their respective designs for these prototype telephones to the patent office within hours of each other. Bell patented his telephone first and later emerged the victor in a legal dispute with Gray. Today, Bell's name is synonymous with the telephone, while Gray is largely forgotten. However, the story of who invented the telephone goes beyond these two men.
