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Antonio Meucci

 
 
 Florence 13.April.1808- Staten Island -N.Y. 18.October.1889

   
 
Biographical notes
 
 

            

Operator of the custom office mechanical and theatrical, passionate electro physiology, because of his liberal ideas and Republican was forced to emigrate to Cuba where remains from 1834 to 1849, before moving to New York where, in his factory candles, for three years, 1850 to 1853, a collaborator of exception: Giuseppe Garibaldi. 
His first intuition phone dates back to 1849, Meucci is in Havana where he works as technical stage at the Grand Theater Tacon and, to round off his lean salary, he also electro therapy, then much in vogue.  It was during these experiments electro therapy accidentally hears a "weak" scream of a patient suffering from a shock, this fact told about thirty years later the same Morse before the United States Supreme Court began research and experimentation on this phenomenon of voice transported by 'electricity. Fearing revolutionary Cuba to leave in 1850 (1 May) Havana at a time in New York, with a capital of $ 25,000. Buy a house in Staten Island and opens a factory for the production of candles, on July 30 of that year arrives in New York from exile after the fall of the Roman Republic Giuseppe Garibaldi, which becomes a friend and offered him a place in his workshop, and hospitality at his home, Garibaldi accepts the hospitality and work even if you have to engage in this activity. In the years 1853-'57 Meucci continues his experiments to "Telettrofono" apparatus so named by him but does not present any patent this apparatus (he had already submitted five patents for other subjects), and only in 1871 has a Caveat (provisional patent application) for his telettrofono which will take the matriculation 3355 issued on 23 December 1871.

In 1871 is the victim of a serious accident, the boiler bursts of Westfield ferry and remains seriously injured and remained for three months between life and death, in the long convalescence lost work and falls into poverty. This situation will impact on patent submitted as will renew for the lapse in'72 but'73 because Meucci was not 10 dollars for the renewal of the patent.

Two years after Alexander Graham Bell filed his first patent now with the final number 161739 (see documents Bell). Other patent number 174465 (see documents Bell) issued on March 7, 1876 cites the specification No. 5 verbatim quotes that its system is suitable for transmitting sound and voice via telegraph lines. This specification will become a pet subject for lawyers in the case of Bell brought in 1885 against GLOBE TELEPHONE, the latter founded by Meucci and other friends. On 19 July 1887 the case was over in favor of 'Americ Bell Telephone Company issued by Judge William C. Wallace.