In contrition for all the hours we mindlessly stream music from our ephemeral digital devices, let us spare a thought for Emile Berliner. On this date in 1888, at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Berliner gave the first public demonstration of his new invention, the flat gramophone disk.
Berliner founded the United States Gramophone Company in 1894, the Gramophone Company in London, in 1897, Deutsche Grammophon in Hanover, in 1898, Berliner Gram-o-phone Company of Canada in Montreal in 1899 (chartered in 1904), and, with Eldridge Johnson, Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901.
He was also instrumental in the development of the microphone and its application to telephone technology. Predictably, there was a great legal battle with Thomas Edison over the legitimacy of his patent. (The United States Court of Appeal sided with Edison.) Berliner was awarded his first patent for the gramophone in 1887.
In 1929, Berliner was awarded the Franklin Medal for his life work in successful invention. Earlier, he was honored by the Franklin Institute with a Scott Medal for the development of the gramophone. I mention these mostly because of the local connection. Clearly his influence and honors extend well beyond Philadelphia!
https://www.fi.edu/case-files/emile-berliner
Berliner’s birthday anniversary is on Wednesday. You can learn a little more about him here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emile_Berliner
Brush up on your French with this demonstration of Berliner gramophones:
Berliner gramophone playing “By the Sycamore Tree.”
Tribute to Berliner:
A brief history of the gramophone:
Leave a Reply