July 9: An Artifact of a Past Age

On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke nine momentous words: "Mr. Watson, come here. I need to see you." It was hardly an earthshaking statement, except for one fact. Bell had spoken the first words ever communicated by telephone. It wasn't much. Thomas Watson, Bell's assistant, was only in the next room. But Bell immediately saw the exciting possibilities. He began working right away to get his invention noticed by the public. The telephone was awarded a medal at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Later that year, at an exhibition in Salem, Massachusetts, Bell spoke with Watson, who was in Boston.