360The 1870s: the telephone, the phonograph and the light bulb
Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876. Thomas Edison invented the phonograph to record sound in 1877 and demonstrated a long-lasting electric light bulb in 1879. Germany became a unified empire in 1871, and the Universal Postal Union linked the world's mail services.
In January 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War, the German states united into the German Empire, with Wilhelm I as emperor. It quickly became one of Europe's leading industrial powers.
In 1874, countries founded the General Postal Union, soon renamed the Universal Postal Union, which let letters travel between member countries under shared rules. It is now a United Nations agency.
On 7 March 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a US patent for the telephone. Days later, he made his first call to his assistant, saying: 'Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you.' Telephone exchanges soon opened in cities around the world.
In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, the first machine that could record and play back sound. The first words he recorded were reportedly 'Mary had a little lamb'.
In 1879, Edison demonstrated an electric light bulb with a carbon filament that could glow for many hours. In England, Joseph Swan had developed a similar lamp. Electric light soon spread to streets, homes and factories.
In art, a group of painters in Paris held their own exhibition in 1874. A critic mocked them as 'Impressionists', and the name stuck.
- 1871
- German Empire founded
- 1874
- Universal Postal Union founded
- 1876
- Bell patents the telephone
- 1877
- Edison's phonograph
- 1879
- Edison's long-lasting light bulb
Sources: Britannica · Library of Congress · Universal Postal Union.