author
Elisha Gray
1835–1901
A gifted 19th-century inventor and electrical engineer, he helped build the telegraph industry and became one of the most famous rivals in the race to create the telephone. His story blends practical genius, business ambition, and a long-running debate about who got there first.
2 Audiobooks
Electricity and Magnetism
by Elisha Gray
About the author
Born in Barnesville, Ohio, in 1835, Elisha Gray grew up in a Quaker family and worked his way into science and engineering through study and hands-on skill. He spent time at Oberlin College, taught there for a while, and developed a reputation as an inventive, technically minded problem-solver.
Gray went on to co-found the company that became Western Electric, an important force in American communications technology. He created a range of telegraphic devices and is also remembered for the telautograph, an early machine for sending handwriting electrically over a distance.
Today, Gray is most often linked to the dramatic telephone dispute of 1876. He developed a telephone design around the same time as Alexander Graham Bell, and the close timing of their filings led to years of controversy, making Gray a lasting and fascinating figure in the history of invention.