Maker Info
National Bell Telephone Company
The National Bell Telephone Company was part of the evolution of the Bell telephone companies in the late 19th century.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for what is now known as the telephone. Bell's patent beat out a very similar application filed earlier the same day by Elisha Gray, an American electrical engineer and inventor. The question of who first invented the technology became the focus of years of litigation and dispute.
The history of the Bell telephone companies is complex, and includes organizations in different locations. In 1877 The Bell Telephone Company was created and in 1878 Bell organized the first telephone exchange in New Haven, Connecticut. A related company, New England Telephone and Telegraph (formed in Connecticut by investors from Massachusetts and Rhode Island), was created the same year, 1878. The two companies merged 1879, becoming the National Bell Telephone Company.
In 1880, the National Bell Telephone Company merged again and formed two companies: the American Bell Telephone Company (based in Boston) and the International Bell Telephone Company (based in Brussels, Belgium). International Bell began to compete with American and European companies in the telephone market in Europe. American Bell Telephone Company later evolved into American Telegraph & Telephone Company (AT&T).