Emil Berliner

Born: 1851 | Died: 1929

Scientist and Inventor

Emil (also spelled Emile) Berliner was born in Hannover, northern Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1870, where he started working as an accountant. He spent his free time pursuing his interests in science and technology, especially telephones which led to some ground breaking inventions.

Only a year after Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1877, Emil Berliner experimented with and finally invented a loose telephone transmitter, or microphone. He was able to sell his invention to Alexander Graham Bell and his Bell Telephone Company. Emil Berliner continued to experiment, and in 1887, he patented the gramophone and a method of duplicating record disks. The first song that ever came out of this very first record player was “Twinkle, twinkle, little star,” the player itself had to be operated by a crank handle.

In addition to his interest in acoustics, Emil Berliner was also very interested in Aeronautics, in 1908, he invented a light-weight motor that became a prototype for aircrafts. Also, he designed a helicopter that was successfully used as early as 1919. He later returned to his original field of interest and developed an acoustic tile for use in concert halls and auditoriums.

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