Thomas Edison
Alexander Graham Bell

Thomas A. Watson

Bell collaborator and entrepreneur
American Bell · Bell Telephone · Charles Williams Jr. Shop  |  Associates: Alexander Graham Bell, Alexander Melville Bell, Emile Berliner, Francis Blake, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Thomas S. Sanders, Theodore Vail, Charles Williams, Jr., Thomas B. Doolittle
From Wikipedia

Thomas Augustus Watson (January 18, 1854 – December 13, 1934) was an American inventor and assistant to Alexander Graham Bell in the invention of the telephone in 1876. Afterwards, he founded the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company, which became a major shipyard during World War II.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, United States, Watson was a bookkeeper and a carpenter before he found a job more to his liking in the Charles Williams machine shop in Boston in 1872. He was then hired by Alexander Graham Bell, who was then a professor at Boston University.
Watson had the distinction of… More on Wikipedia →

Timeline events (10)

Thomas Watson starts work at Charles Williams Jr's. shop
Thomas A. Watson Charles Williams, Jr.
1872
Bell and Watson start working together at Williams' shop
Alexander Graham Bell Thomas A. Watson Charles Williams, Jr.
1874
Bell Telephone founded
Bell Telephone founded
1877
Watson invents a ringer that 'thumps'
Watson invents a ringer that 'thumps'
1877
Bell and Gower exhibit the telephone in Lawrence, Mass.
Bell and Gower exhibit the telephone in Lawrence, Mass.
1877
First public exhibition of the telephone, in Salem, Mass.
First public exhibition of the telephone, in Salem, Mass.
1877
Sold-out Salem phone exhibition with two-way speech to/from Boston
Sold-out Salem phone exhibition with two-way speech to/from Boston
1877
Watson invents a ringer that rings
Watson invents a ringer that rings
1878
Watson retires from Bell at age 27
Thomas A. Watson
1881
First transcontinental phone call (between Bell and Watson)
Alexander Graham Bell Bancroft Gherardi Jr. Thomas A. Watson
1915

Phones (4)

1879 Coffin
1879 Coffin
Bell Telephone
Bell (Charles Williams) coffin subscriber set
Bell (Charles Williams) coffin subscriber set
Charles Williams Jr. Shop / Bell Telephone
Early Bell Coffin Phone
Early Bell Coffin Phone
Bell Telephone
Three-Boxer Circa 1880
Three-Boxer Circa 1880
American Bell / Charles Williams Jr. Shop

PDFs (2)

How Bell Invented The Telephone (Watson Speech)
How Bell Invented The Telephone (Watson Speech)
1915
The Birth and Babyhood Of the Telephone, By Thomas Watson
The Birth and Babyhood Of the Telephone, By Thomas Watson
1937 · AT&T / Bell System

Related concepts (1)

First transcontinental telephone call
A telephone call, which for marketing purposes is claimed to be the first transcontinental telephone call, occurred on January 25, 1915, a day timed to coincide with the…
More on Wikipedia →

Categories

Bell founding team Business Early innovators Manufacturing