The telephone that we see around today was certainly not the first model developed for communication. Prior to its invention, many people had attempted to make different types of phones. However, Graham Bell’s telephone, invented in 1876 was the most successful.
Most of the earliest models were mechanical acoustic devices that transmitted speech over a distance greater than that of normal speech.
One important discovery during the 17th century was by Robert Hooke. He made an acoustic string phone in 1667. By the 19th century, various types of telegraphs were developed. It was after improvements of the electrical telegraph that the telephone emerged.
There were many people who worked on this invention. However, it was Alexander Graham Bell, who won the patent for the device.