This article deals with the events that preceded the U.S. House Resolution No. 269 of June 11, 2002, acknowledging the primacy of Antonio Meucci in the invention of the telephone and that were decisive to the passing of the same. Among them are the author’s lecture at the University of NewYork of October 10, 2000, and Resolution No. 1566 of the New York City Council urging the U.S. Congress to recognize the priority of Antonio Meucci in the invention of the telephone, which followed 2 days after. This lecture is reported here as it was newly delivered in Canada during the author’s visit in April 2003.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Bell Telephone Co. (1885, November 10). Bill of complaint(Records of the U.S. Supreme Court, case no. 13271 “American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. [appeal]”). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
2.
American heritage dictionary of the English language. (1996). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company .
3.
An appalling disaster [Editorial] . (1871, August 12). Harper’s Weekly, 1.
4.
Article of agreement, Meucci, Tremeschin, Grandi and Breguglia (Telettrofono Company)(RG60, file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1. Also in Deposition of Antonio Meucci, defendants’ exhibit 112). (1871, December 12, p. 76-77). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
5.
Beckwith, S. R. (1885, November 14). Argument(Hearings before the Department of the Interior, in the matter of a petition to set aside Bell’s patents, and on the prior inventions of Antonio Meucci [The telephone case]. RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 7, folder 1, enclosures, printed records and briefs, no. 9.). College Park, MD: National Archives & Record Administration.
Bell, A. G. (1876, filed February 14, granted March 7). Improvement in telegraphy(U.S. Patent No. 174,465). Arlington, VA: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
8.
Bell, A. G. (1877, filed January 15, granted January 30). Improvement in electric telegraphy(U.S. Patent No. 186,787). Arlington, VA: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
9.
Bell, A. G. (1892, April-July). Deposition(Records of the Circuit Court of the United States, District of Massachusetts “United States of America vs. American Bell Telephone Co. and Alexander Graham Bell”). Waltham, MA: National Archives& Record Administration, New England Region .
10.
Bendelari, E. (1880, January 13). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
11.
Bertolino, A. (1885, September 18). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
12.
Bertolino, C. (1885, September 18). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
13.
Catania, B. (1990, October). Alla ricerca della verità su Antonio Meucci e sulla invenzione del telefono [In search of the truth on Antonio Meucci and the invention of the telephone] . L’Elettrotecnica, LXXVII(10), 49-55 .
14.
Catania, B. (1991, February). L’ingiustizia corre sul filo. Sulle orme di Antonio Meucci—Un viaggio nel XIX secolo [Injustice runs through the wire. Following in Antonio Meucci’s tracks. A journey along the XIX century] . Achab, Il Corriere dell’Avventura, II(2), 35-38 .
15.
Catania, B. (1992, October). Sulle tracce di Antonio Meucci— Appunti di viaggio [Following in Antonio Meucci’s tracks— some travel notes] . L’Elettrotecnica, LXXIX(10), 973-984 .
16.
Catania, B. (1994a). Antonio Meucci—L’Inventore e il suo Tempo—Da Firenze all’Avana(Vol. 1) [Antonio Meucci: The inventor and his times—from Florence to Havana]. Rome, Italy: Seat—Divisione STET, Editoria per la Comunicazione .
17.
Catania, B. (1994b, June 1). Presentation of bookAntonio Meucci—L’inventore e il suo tempo—Da Firenze all’Avana [Antonio Meucci: The inventor and his times—from Florence to Havana] . Keynote address at the International Conference on the Telephone Pioneers, Lincei Academy, Rome, Italy.
18.
Catania, B. (1995, February). Un documento inedito rivaluta l’opera di Antonio Meucci [An unpublished document revalues the work of Antonio Meucci]. AEI—Automazione, Energia, Informazione, 82(2), 32-40.
19.
Catania, B. (1996a). Antonio Meucci—L’inventore e il suo tempo—New York 1850-1871(Vol. 2) [Antonio Meucci: The inventor and his times—New York 1850-1871]. Turin, Italy: Seat—Divisione STET, Editoria per la Comunicazione .
20.
Catania, B. (1996b, November). Antonio Meucci revisited . Antenna, Newsletter of the Mercurians, in the Society for the History of Technology, 9(1), 4-5 .
21.
Catania, B. (1996c, January-June). La labor precursora de Antonio Meucci sobre el teléfono desde La Habana hasta Clifton [Antonio Meucci’s pioneering work on the telephone, from Havana to Clifton] . Revista Bimestre Cubana, LXXIX, III(4), 49-63 .
22.
Catania, B. (1996d, May 16). Presentation of bookAntonio Meucci—L’Inventore e il suo Tempo—New York, 1850-1871 [Antonio Meucci: The Inventor and His Times—New York, 1850-1871] . Keynote address at Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio, Salone dei Gigli, Italy.
23.
Catania, B. (1999a, November-December). Four “firsts” in telephony . ETT-European Transactions on Telecommunications, 10(6), 681-687 .
24.
Catania, B. (1999b, October). Il Governo degli Stati Uniti contro Alexander Graham Bell—Un importante riconoscimento per Antonio Meucci [The U.S. Government versus Alexander Graham Bell: An important acknowledgement for Antonio Meucci] . AEI—Automazione, Energia, Informazione, 86(Suppl.), 1-12 .
25.
Catania, B. (2000, October 10). Lecture. Antonio Meucci, inventor of the telephone: Unearthing the legal and scientific proofs . Presentation made at New York University, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, New York.
26.
Catania, B. (2001, February). Antonio Meucci: Telephone pioneer . Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 21(1), 55-76 .
27.
Catania, B. (2002, December). The U.S. government versus Alexander Graham Bell: An important acknowledgement for Antonio Meucci . Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 22(6), 426-442 .
28.
Catania, B. (2003a, April 10). Lecture. Antonio Meucci—The legal and scientific proofs . Presentation made at Communications Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.
29.
Catania, B. (2003b, April 14). Lecture. New evidence on Antonio Meucci’s contribution to the invention of the telephone . Presentation made at University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
30.
Catania, B. (2003c, April 9). Lecture. The new truth about telephony—Meucci, an inventor and a discoverer . Presentation made at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
31.
Certificate of death of Edward B. Grant. (1884, October 7). New York: New York City Department of Records & Information Services—Municipal Archives .
32.
Citarotto, J. (1886, January 2). Affidavit(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. “Exhibits and affidavits.” Also annexed to the deposition of Frederico Garlanda, as “Exhibit Dr. John Citarotto affidavit”). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
33.
Ciucci, M. (1885, September 23). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 3). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
34.
Corradi, N. (1880, April 3). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
35.
Council of the City of NewYork. (2000, October 12). Calling upon the United States Congress to acknowledge the primacy of Antonio Meucci in the invention of the telephone and declare his moral vindication for this great achievement in the service of science and all mankind. Resolution No. 1566, passed unanimously. Available at http://www.council.nyc.ny.us/textfiles/Res1566-2000.htm
36.
Cross, C. R. (1886, April 22). Affidavit(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. “Deposition of Charles Cross, exhibits and affidavits”). New York: National Archives& Records Administration, Northeast Region .
37.
Durant, G. F. (1884a, October 6). Letter to Theodore N. Vail. Warren, NJ: AT&T Archives .
38.
Durant, G. F. (1884b November 10). Letter to Thomas L. Lockwood. Warren, NJ: AT&T Archives .
39.
Durant, G. F. (1886, April 19). Deposition(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of NewYork. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. “Deposition of George F. Durant”). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
40.
Engel, E. L. (2001a, May 24). In recognition of Antonio Meucci— Hon. Eliot L. Engel, of New York, in the House of Representatives. Congressional record . Proceedings and debates of the 106th Congress, first session, extensions of remarks (E931).
41.
Engel, E. L. (2001b, September 5). Speech by Prof. Basilio Catania—Hon. Eliot L. Engel, of New York, in the House of Representatives. Congressional record . Proceedings and debates of the 106th Congress, second session, extensions of remarks (E1580-1582).
42.
Fagen, M. D. (Ed.). (1975). A history of engineering and science in the Bell system—the early years. New York, NY: Bell Telephone Laboratories Inc.
43.
Finn, B.S. (1990). Telephone. In Encyclopaedia Britannica(15th ed., pp. 495-499).
44.
Fleming, J. (1885, September 23). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
45.
Garlanda, F. (1886a, April 20). Affidavit(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. “Exhibits and affidavits”). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
46.
Garlanda, F. (1886b, April 19). Deposition(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of NewYork. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. “Deposition of Federico Garlanda”). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
47.
Gates, B. (1997, 27 March). Global Encarta proves truth can be relative. New York Post, Business, p. 30-30.
48.
Globe Telephone Company of New York. (1885, September 29). Petition to annul A. G. Bell’s patents no. 174,465, granted March 7, 1876 on improvement in telegraphy, and no. 186,787, granted Jan. 30, 1877, on improvement in electric telegraphy (RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 8, folder 1). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
49.
Guy, J. F. (1885, September 18). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], year files 6921-1885, papers filed in the Patent Office, Mmarked 14: “Additional poofs for A. G. Bell, American Bell Tel. Co.”). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
50.
Humphreys, D. (1885, November 14). Argument.(Hearings before the Department of the Interior, in the matter of a petition to set aside Bell’s patents [The telephone case]. Argument of David Humphreys, attorney for the GlobeTelephone Company. RG60 [Department of Justice] DJ 6921-1885. Enclosures printed records and briefs, no. 8). College Park, MD: National Archives& Records Administration.
51.
Jenks, G. A. (1885, December 22). Report to Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, secretary of the Interior(Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, RG48, Patents and Miscellaneous Division, file 1885-4390). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
52.
Lacombe, H. (1887, November 18). Appeal of Globe Telephone Company et al. vs. American Bell Telephone Company et al. allowed by Judge Henry Lacombe(Records of the Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. American Bell Telephone Company et al. vs. Globe Telephone Company et al.). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
53.
Lamar, L. Q. C. (1886, January 14). Letter to Hon. John Goode, acting attorney general(RG 60 [Department of Justice], year files 6921-1885, no. 479 of 1886). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration .
54.
Lemmi, M. (1885, September 28). Affidavit. Translation of Meucci’s Memorandum Book, countersigned by Antonio Meucci (RG60 [Department of Justice], year files enclosures 1885-6921, box 10, folder 1, location 230/3/46/6). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
55.
Mariani, D. (1885, December 31-1886, January 16). Deposition (Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. “Deposition of Domenico Mariani”). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
56.
Meucci, A. (1871, December 28). Sound telegraph. Caveat no. 3335. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent& Trademark Office . (Now kept at College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration, RG60 [Department of Justice], year files 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1)
57.
Meucci, A. (1885a, October 9). Affidavit. In Deposition of Antonio Meucci, 1885(Exhibit no. 120). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
58.
Meucci, A. (1885b, December 2). Answer to bill of complaint.(Records of the U.S. Supreme Court, case no. 13271 “American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. [appeal]”). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration .
59.
Meucci, A. (1885c, December 7-1886, January 13). Deposition. (Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York—The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al.—Deposition of Antonio Meucci). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region . (Also Deposition of Antonio Meucci. New York: New York Public Library [Annex])
60.
Meucci, E. (1880, April 2). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
61.
Montgomery, M. V. (1885, December 12). Report to Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, secretary of the Interior(49th Congress, first session— Misc. doc. no. 355, testimony taken by the committee appointed by the House of Representatives to investigate charges against certain public officers, relating to the Pan Electric Company, and to suits by the United States to annul the Bell Telephone Patents. Government Printing Office, 1886, pp. 1268-1271). Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives.
62.
Muldrow, H. L. (1885, December 22). Report to Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, secretary of the Interior(Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, RG48, Patents and Miscellaneous Division, file 1885-4390). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
63.
Pupin, M. I. (1900a, June 19). Art of reducing attenuation of electrical waves and apparatus therefore(U.S. Patent No. 652,230, filed December 1899). Arlington, VA: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
64.
Pupin, M. I. (1900b, June 19). Method of reducing attenuation of electrical waves and apparatus therefore(U.S. Patent No. 652,231, filed December 1899). Arlington, VA: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
65.
Rider, W. E. (1886, April 14). Deposition(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al.). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
66.
Rogers, A. (1886, January 15). Deposition(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of NewYork. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. “Deposition of Amos Rogers, witness for complainants”). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
67.
Schiavo, G. E. (1958). Antonio Meucci, inventor of the telephone. New York: The Vigo Press .
68.
Sons of Italy honors Basilio Catania as “Vindicator of Antonio Meucci” [Editorial]. (2002, November 28). L’Italo-Americano, p. 13-13.
69.
Stetson, T. D. (1880, July 21). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 1. Also reported as “ Defendants’ exhibit no. 142,” in T. D. Stetson’s deposition, but dated July 14, 1880). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
70.
Stetson, T. D. (1885, December 23-1886, January 8). Deposition (Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York. The American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. The Globe Telephone Co. et al. “Deposition of Thomas Stetson”). New York: National Archives & Records Administration, Northeast Region .
71.
Storrow, J. J. (1885, November 5; 1888, April 27). Argument(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “American Telephone Co. et al. vs. National Improved Telephone Co. et al.”). College Park, MD: National Archives& Records Administration .
72.
Supreme Court of Washington, D.C. (filed 1888, October 12). Case no. 13271, appeal(RG267, box 2146. The Globe Telephone Company of New York, Antonio Meucci et al., appellants, vs. The American Bell Telephone Company et al., appeal no. 1281/1888). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
73.
Supreme Court ofWashington, D.C. (1892, March 10). Dismission with costs of appeal by Mr. Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller (Case no. 13271, October term 1891. Appeal no. 1281/1888, filed October 12, 1888, “The Globe Telephone Company, Antonio Meucci, et al., appellants, vs. The American Bell Telephone Company et al.”). Washington, DC: Records of The Supreme Court.
74.
Swan, C. H. (1915, June 28). Letter to Hon. G. W. Anderson, U. S. District Attorney, Boston, MA(Supreme Court case no. 13271 [Bell vs. Globe] RG267, box 2146). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
75.
The Bell company beaten—It must now defend the suit brought in Massachusetts—The Supreme Court overrules the decision of the Circuit Court, sustaining the demurrer entered to the government’s suit—Judge Thurman argued the case—The grounds for the decision [Editorial]. (1888, November 13). The World, p. 7-7.
76.
Tompkins, W. C. (1885, October 10). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], year files 6921-1885. Papers filed in the Patent Office, marked 14: “Additional proofs for A. G. Bell, American Bell Tel. Co.”). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration .
77.
Tosiello, R. J. (1971). The birth and early years of the Bell telephone system, 1876-1880. Boston, MA: Boston University Graduate School .
78.
United States of America. (1886, March 23). Bill of complaint, United States of America vs. American Bell Telephone Co. and Alexander Graham Bell, in the Circuit Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern division. (Reported in U.S. House of Representatives, 1886, pp. 1272-1282)
79.
United States of America. (1887, January 13). Bill of complaint (Records of the Circuit Court of the United States, District of Massachusetts “United States of America vs. American Bell Telephone Co. and Alexander Graham Bell”). Waltham, MA: National Archives & Record Administration, New England Region .
80.
U.S. House of Representatives. (1886). Testimony taken by the committee appointed by the House of Representatives to investigate charges against certain public officers, relating to the Pan Electric Company, and to suits by the United States to annul the Bell Telephone patents(U.S. House of Representatives, 49th Congress, first session, Misc. doc. no. 355). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office .
81.
U.S. House of Representatives. (2002, June 11). House Resolution No. 269, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to honor the life and achievements of 19th century Italian-American inventor Antonio Meucci, and his work in the invention of the telephone . Proceedings and Debates of the 107th Congress, first session. HRES 269 EH.
82.
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. (1885). Patents granted to and applications and caveats filed by A. Meucci (RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
83.
Wallace, W. J. (1884, December 1). Opinion in the case “American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs. People’s Telephone and Telegraph Co. et al.” (The Drawbaugh case)(Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York). New York: National Archives& Records Administration, Northeast Region .
84.
Wallace, W. J. (1887, July 19). Opinion in the case of American Bell Telephone Co. et al. vs Globe Telephone Co., Antonio Meucci et al . The Federal Reporter, 31, 729-729 .
85.
Watson, T. A. (1931). The birth and babyhood of the telephone (Address at the 3rd annual convention of the Telephone Pioneers of America, held in Chicago, IL, on October 17, 1913). New York: Monograph of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
86.
Wilber, Z. F. (1885a, November 7). Affidavit(RG60 [Department of Justice], file 6921-1885, box 10, folder 4). College Park, MD: National Archives & Records Administration.
87.
Wilber, Z. F. (1885b, August 3), Affidavit(U.S. House of Representatives, 49th Congress, first session, misc. doc. no. 355, testimony taken by the committee appointed by the House of Representatives to investigate charges against certain public officers, relating to the Pan Electric Company, and to suits by the United States to annul the Bell telephone patents, p. 313-313). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office .
88.
Wilber, Z. F. (1885c, October 10). Affidavit(U.S. House of Representatives, 49th Congress, first session, misc. doc. no. 355, testimony taken by the committee appointed by the House of Representatives to investigate charges against certain public officers, relating to the Pan Electric Company, and to suits by the United States to annul the Bell telephone patents, pp. 1226-1228). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office .
89.
Wilber, Z. F. (1885d, July 30). Affidavit (Reported in “The Fight Against The Bell Patents”) . The Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review, p. 312-312 .
