Timeline Filter by: Decade or Famous Calls The Network The Business
Early tech | Electronics | Wireless | Digital | Operators | Cables and wires | Exchanges | Phreaking/Hacking | Dialing | Switching | Telegraph | Wired Tech | Office systems | Payphones | Data services | Line workers | Operations
Emma Nutt becomes first female telephone operator
Emma Nutt
1878
Photo: New York's central telephone exchange office
New York's central telephone exchange office
1880
Photo: Operators working at 'pyramid' switchboard
Operators working at 'pyramid' switchboard
1881
Photo: Operators at Boston's Tremont St central office
Operators at Boston's Tremont St central office
1883
First 'common battery' central office (Lexington, Mass.)
First 'common battery' central office (Lexington, Mass.)
1893
Photo: Pasadena, CA's first telephone exchange
Pasadena, CA's first telephone exchange
1898
Photo: Operators in Charleston, West Virginia, 1905
Operators in Charleston, West Virginia, 1905
1905
Photo: Switchboard training, in Denver
Switchboard training, in Denver
1910
Slideshow: Pac Tel 1912: Central Office Scenes
Pac Tel 1912: Central Office Scenes
Slideshow: 49 photos
1912
Julia O'Connor leads the first operators' strike
Julia O'Connor
1919
Photo: Western Union telegraph operator
Western Union telegraph operator
1923
The Tele Skater Girls
The Tele Skater Girls
1929
Photo: Chicago Central Office Roller Skates
Chicago Central Office Roller Skates
1929
Photo: Paris long distance central office
Paris long distance central office
1936
The Voice of the City (Operators)
The Voice of the City (Operators)
1938
Operator! 1938 video profiling operators.
Operator! 1938 video profiling operators.
1938
Photo: Operators at 1939 World's Fair
Operators at 1939 World's Fair
1939
Photo: Operators on cover of Saturday Evening Post
Operators on cover of Saturday Evening Post
1941
Photo: Potsdam conference operators
Potsdam conference operators
1945
England recruits operators amid postwar shortage
England recruits operators amid postwar shortage
1947
Photo: Long Distance operators in Omaha
Long Distance operators in Omaha
1959
Photo: 'Plugless' digital operator stations (TSPS), in Morristown NJ
'Plugless' digital operator stations (TSPS), in Morristown NJ
1969
Careers: Service Representative (AT&T)
Careers: Service Representative (AT&T)
1974
Careers: Toll Operator (AT&T)
Careers: Toll Operator (AT&T)
1974
Carol Burnett: Phone Operator
Carol Burnett: Phone Operator
1974