Elisha Gray

Elisha Gray
Born(1835-08-02)August 2, 1835
DiedJanuary 21, 1901(1901-01-21) (aged 65)
OccupationEngineer/Inventor
AwardsElliott Cresson Medal (1897)
Signature

Elisha Gray (August 2, 1835 – January 21, 1901) was an American electrical engineer who co-founded the Western Electric Manufacturing Company. Gray is best known for his development of a telephone prototype in 1876 in Highland Park, Illinois. Some recent authors have argued that Gray should be considered the true inventor of the telephone because Alexander Graham Bell allegedly stole the idea of the liquid transmitter from him.[1] Although Gray had been using liquid transmitters in his telephone experiments for more than two years previously, Bell's telephone patent was upheld in numerous court decisions.

Gray is also considered to be the father of the modern music synthesizer,[2] and was granted over 70 patents for his inventions.[3] He was one of the founders of Graybar, purchasing a controlling interest in the company shortly after its inception.

  1. ^ Shulman 2008.
  2. ^ "What is a Synthesizer and how does it work? |". Playpiano.com. 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  3. ^ "Elisha Gray". Oberlin.edu. Retrieved 2013-09-02.