[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 76 (Tuesday, June 11, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H3308-H3311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF 19TH CENTURY ITALIAN-AMERICAN
INVENTOR ANTONIO MEUCCI
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the
rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 269) expressing the sense of
the House of Representatives to honor the life and achievements of 19th
century Italian-American Inventor Antonio
[[Page H3309]]
Meucci, and his work in the invention of the telephone.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 269
Whereas Antonio Meucci, the great Italian inventor, had a
career that was both extraordinary and tragic;
Whereas, upon immigrating to New York, Meucci continued to
work with ceaseless vigor on a project he had begun in
Havana, Cuba, an invention he later called the
``teletrofono'', involving electronic communications;
Whereas Meucci set up a rudimentary communications link in
his Staten Island home that connected the basement with the
first floor, and later, when his wife began to suffer from
crippling arthritis, he created a permanent link between his
lab and his wife's second floor bedroom;
Whereas, having exhausted most of his life's savings in
pursuing his work, Meucci was unable to commercialize his
invention, though he demonstrated his invention in 1860 and
had a description of it published in New York's Italian
language newspaper;
Whereas Meucci never learned English well enough to
navigate the complex American business community;
Whereas Meucci was unable to raise sufficient funds to pay
his way through the patent application process, and thus had
to settle for a caveat, a one year renewable notice of an
impending patent, which was first filed on December 28, 1871;
Whereas Meucci later learned that the Western Union
affiliate laboratory reportedly lost his working models, and
Meucci, who at this point was living on public assistance,
was unable to renew the caveat after 1874;
Whereas in March 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, who conducted
experiments in the same laboratory where Meucci's materials
had been stored, was granted a patent and was thereafter
credited with inventing the telephone;
Whereas on January 13, 1887, the Government of the United
States moved to annul the patent issued to Bell on the
grounds of fraud and misrepresentation, a case that the
Supreme Court found viable and remanded for trial;
Whereas Meucci died in October 1889, the Bell patent
expired in January 1893, and the case was discontinued as
moot without ever reaching the underlying issue of the true
inventor of the telephone entitled to the patent; and
Whereas if Meucci had been able to pay the $10 fee to
maintain the caveat after 1874, no patent could have been
issued to Bell: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that the life and achievements of Antonio
Meucci should be recognized, and his work in the invention of
the telephone should be acknowledged.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann
Davis).
General Leave
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks on House Resolution 269.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the House consider House Resolution
269, important legislation introduced by my distinguished colleague,
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella).
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives
in honoring the life and achievements of the 19th century Italian-
American inventor, Antonio Meucci. We have all grown up believing that
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. However, history must be
rewritten if justice is to be done to recognize Meucci as the true
inventor of the telephone.
{time} 1445
Bell was issued a patent for the telephone in 1887. However, 17 years
earlier, in 1860, it was Meucci who successfully demonstrated his
electronic communications link in his Staten Island, New York home, an
invention he later called the teletrofono. Meucci was a poor man who
never learned English and was unable to navigate the business world. He
did not have the $10 needed to apply for a patent for his invention and
was never able to get the financial backing needed to pursue a patent.
Later, following a tragic accident in which Meucci was severely burned,
the laboratory where he worked on his invention supposedly lost his
working models needed to get a patent. Just a few years later, Bell who
worked in the same laboratory, earned the patent for the telephone.
The story of Antonio Meucci is not well known. While he has not
received credit for his invention in our history books, the House of
Representatives will today honor the genius of the Italian American
inventor Antonio Meucci.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members to support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, Antonio Meucci was born in Florence, Italy in 1808. He
was fond of chemistry and at the age of 17 conceived an improved
powerful propeller to be used in fireworks, so powerful that his little
rockets lost control, caused damage to properties in the vicinity. This
was the beginning of a life filled with experiments and discoveries.
Meucci spent the first 27 years of his life in Florence, Italy, 15
years in Havana, Cuba, and 39 years in Clifton, New York. While in
Havana, Meucci discovered the latest discoveries in electricity,
electrochemistry and electrotherapy in his laboratory which was next to
his apartment. In 1865 Meucci wrote, ``At Havana, by means of some
little experiments, I came to discover that with an instrument placed
at the ear and with the aid of electricity and a metallic wire, the
exact word could be transmitted holding the conductor in the mouth . .
. ''. Meucci had discovered electrical speech transmission.
Meucci and his wife, Esther, moved to New York in 1850 where he
established a very successful candle business. However, in 1854, his
wife aggravated her rheumatoid arthritis to the point where she could
seldom leave her bedroom in the third floor of the house.
Esther's illness stimulated the resuming of Meucci's speaking
telegraph, as it allowed her to communicate with him and others from
her bedroom. Meucci established a telephone link from Esther's room to
the basement as well as to a larger laboratory in the yard. To call
attention, a mechanical call bell was used, its wires running parallel
to those of the telephone. Only one instrument was used at each end,
that was alternately brought to the ear or mouth of the user. Meucci
received little credit for the invention he later called the
teletrofono.
This resolution recognizes his work, the importance of his efforts,
and I am pleased to not only support it, but I also want to commend the
gentleman for bringing it to the attention of all of the Members of
this House and to the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he
may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella), the chief
sponsor of this bill.
Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me
time. I thank Members on both sides, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Davis), as well as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) for
supporting this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, it is my strong belief that Italian Americans have
contributed greatly to the United States and continue to contribute
proudly as well. We know Columbus discovered America. Two Italians
signed the Declaration of Independence. Enrico Fermi split the atom,
and Captain Don Gentile, the fighting ace, was described by General
Dwight Eisenhower as a ``one-man force.'' He, like so many other
Italian-Americans, did and were willing to give their life in defense
of freedom and liberty and supporting these great United States.
Mr. Speaker, I wanted to spend a few minutes today to honor an
Italian American and former Staten Island resident who is often
overlooked, as announced already, and his name was Antonio Meucci.
The 19th century was a time of great technological innovation, as its
birth heralded the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. However,
unlike the century just ended and the new one we are beginning to
explore, the rough-and-tumble of our young Nation had yet to develop
information exchange to the extent we enjoy today.
[[Page H3310]]
The Founding Fathers made America a guarantor of unprecedented and,
to this day, unmatched liberty. This liberty included again an
unprecedented appreciation for intellectual property rights. Today with
our study of historical records and ability to examine many disparate
sources of information, we now know it is likely the invention of what
we know today as a telephone took place in the middle of the 19th
century rather than its end, and its creator is believed to be Antonio
Meucci. He worked for years to develop a new system of electronic
communication. However, poor and sick, he was unable to keep the
patents enforced and died before the courts could decide with finality
whether he or Alexander Graham Bell was the true inventor of the
telephone.
It is known that Meucci demonstrated his device in 1860, that a
description appeared in New York's Italian language newspaper, and that
Western Union received working models from Meucci but reportedly lost
them.
It is also known that Meucci, due to his limited means, settled for a
caveat, a one-year renewable notice of an impending patent, first filed
in 1871, but which he was unable to pursue after 1874, while Alexander
Graham Bell was not granted a patent until 1876.
Finally, it is known that the Supreme Court of the United States
directed the case to proceed to trial but Meucci died a short time
later, rendering the case moot.
So with these facts before the House today, I ask for the passage of
this resolution to honor the life and achievements long overdue of
Antonio Meucci, a great Italian American and a former great Staten
Islander.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of
my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), one who
represents the feisty tradition of Italians and of Italian Americans,
and a great spokesman not only for Italy and Italian Americans, but a
great spokesman for all of America.
Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis) for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, first I want to commend my good friend, the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Fossella). How refreshing it is to talk about an
Italian American out of the Hollywood spotlight and an Italian American
not recognized. If only we took the time in this society to deal with
all ethnics, people of all racial persuasions in fairness, and that is
what this resolution is all about: Fairness, honesty, breaking the
stereotypes that many of us have learned; in fact, probably, taught
without our even knowing.
We recognize today the life and achievements of Antonio Meucci. He
was a pauper. He had nothing. He came here with nothing. He could not
even put $10 up for a patent application. And yet his life is one of
brilliance in science, particularly. He is only a footnote in our
history books. We all know those great publishers that steer the
education process of America. He earns, if he is lucky, a footnote.
Indeed, many local libraries, if you search for his name in a card
catalog, you may come up empty. Yet, substantial evidence exists that
he indeed developed the first telephone. It is Alexander Graham Bell
who is most commonly given credit. After all, it was he, and not
Meucci, who was awarded one of the most valuable patents in American
history. But the fact remains that Meucci's scientific discoveries
concerning human voice transmission as well as his tangible teletrofono
preceded those of Bell.
In fact, when you examine, Mr. Speaker, how this all happened in a
place where Meucci heard an exclamation of a friend who was in another
room over a piece of copper wire running between them, he realized
immediately that he had something that was more important than any
discovery he had ever made. But that realization also came with the
understanding that to succeed as an inventor, he would need an
environment that truly fostered his inquisitive mind and his vibrant
spirit.
I believe that it is proper to honor the far-reaching contributions
that Antonio Meucci made to our society, and I am not the only one. The
Government of the United States and the Supreme Court agree with me. In
this Supreme Court document, Mr. Speaker, it is very clear in the many
pages laid out across the record that this is no ordinary young man in
his struggle. In 1887 the Government moved to annul the patent issued
to Bell on the grounds of misrepresentation, an indication that the
Supreme Court found viable and remanded for retrial. This is only one
of many published documents during the time, the late 1800s that
outlined the case being made for Meucci, indeed, the case we are making
today on both sides of the aisle. In 1860 a description of his first
telephone model was published, as the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Fossella) pointed out, in an Italian language newspaper in New York
City, 16 years before Bell's patent.
Indeed, Meucci's extraordinary career flourished upon immigrating to
New York in 1850. His poor finances, his limited English, his grasp of
the language was not very good. It plagued him throughout his life.
Yet, he worked tirelessly to bring long distance communication to a
practical stage.
When his wife fell paralyzed in 1855, Meucci set up a telephone
system which joined several rooms of his house with his workshop in
another building. This was the first such installation anywhere;
anywhere. Unfortunately, Meucci was unable to raise those funds to pay
his way through the arduous patent application process. Instead, he had
to settle for a caveat, which is a one-year renewable notice of an
impending patent. He first filed this on December 28, 1871. Three years
later his finances were absolutely zero.
Living with the aid of public assistance and unable to get a 7-A
loan, which today we have available through small business, Meucci was
forced to allow the caveat to lapse at the end of that year. Two years
after the expiration of his caveat, Alexander Graham Bell performed
experiments in the same laboratory that Meucci worked, and he took out
a patent for his own voice-transmitting device. The same laboratory.
It is possible that sometimes several inventors have the same idea at
roughly the same time. In this case, what has mattered is not who had
the idea for the telephone first, but who first turned the idea into a
viable commercial enterprise. Let us not forget that if Antonio Meucci
could have paid the $10 fee to maintain his caveat, the Bell patent
could not have been granted. Ten dollars.
{time} 1500
Let us not forget that the Supreme Court of the United States found
that Meucci's case was viable and warranted a trial at a circuit court.
It is unfortunate that Meucci died before his case could even be
continued and before a resolution could be reached as to who truly
invented the telephone; but most importantly, let us not forget that
Antonio Meucci's great contributions to science have had a profound
impact on our modern society.
Mr. Speaker, many people from many different nations have contributed
to this greatest of all democracies. Antonio Meucci was one such
person. He is a reflection of our brothers and sisters from all over
the world who came to this country with nothing and worked hard to make
this a better place for mankind. Some heralded, some not even a
footnote in the library.
It is fitting that his efforts are recognized here today, and I thank
the gentleman from New York for allowing me to work with him on this
important resolution.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
We have no further requests for time, and I would just like to close
by thanking both the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella) and the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) for this tremendous depiction
of history that they have given us this afternoon, which reinforces my
desire to be a strong supporter of this resolution; and it also
reinforces how great and how much opportunity there is that exists in
this country. Every time we pass one small measure, in this instance,
it might have been a microbusiness loan that could have changed the
history of our understanding of telecommunications.
[[Page H3311]]
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1
minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella).
Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to add and commend the two
gentlemen, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) and especially the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) for a very strong and
passionate defense in support of the life of a great American and great
inventor and merely add to the course, so to speak, that he was
emblematic and remains so as a representative of all those who have
come to this country to seek a better life and an opportunity and, in
particular, to those Americans of Italian descent who have and will
continue to make this the greatest country in the history of the world
and in a small way and a long overdue way but in a small measure. I
would ask my colleagues to support it.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the story of Antonio
Meucci is a tragic one, and although he successfully demonstrated his
electronic communication years before Alexander Graham Bell received a
patent for the telephone, Meucci has been all but forgotten.
This resolution attempts to remedy this oversight and give credit to
one of history's great inventors. Meucci should be remembered with
other innovators, like Edison, the Wright Brothers, and Marconi, whose
vision and tenacity changed our lives for the better.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this resolution.
Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great New Yorker and
a great inventor, Antonio Meucci. As the first member of the House to
join with our colleague from New York, Mr. Fosella, on this resolution,
I am gratified that it is coming before us today.
House Resolution 269 honors the life and achievements of Antonio
Meucci, who came to New York in 1950. Born in San Frediano, near
Florence, Italy in April 1808, he was an inventor through and through.
He constantly read scientific tracts and conducted experiment after
experiment. He went to Havana in 1835 to work as a stage technician. It
is there that he had the first inkling of his greatest invention.
Meucci developed a type of electro-shock treatment for the ill. While
preparing to administer one of his treatments, Meucci heard his patient
say something from the next room over the piece of copper wire running
between them. This was the event that sparked his breakthrough.
Meucci spent the next ten years bringing the idea of voices being
transmitted over wire to a practical stage. With this goal, he left
Cuba for New York in 1850. There he found many other Italians who had
left their native land, including the great revolutionary Garibaldi,
who stayed in Meucci's Staten Island home.
During his time in New York he had success with his invention. After
his wife became ill in 1855, he installed a kind of intercom system in
his house, the first installed anywhere in the world. Five years later,
he was arranging demonstrations to attract financial backing.
Unfortunately, nothing came of this, and he spent a considerable time
in poverty. His poverty forced him to sell rights to his inventions to
others, and he never filed for a patent on a telephone. After an
accident left the inventor hospitalized, his wife sold all of his
inventions, including the telephone prototype, to help pay for his
treatment. The ``secondhand dealer'' resold the items to an ``unknown
young man.'' To this day, we do not know the identity of this unknown
young man.
Meucci tried to reconstruct his invention, but unable to raise the
$250 needed for a patent, a considerable sum in 1871, he filed a
``notice of intent'' on December 28, 1871, which he renewed for two
years, but not after. He tried to sell his ``Talking Telegraph'' to the
newly established Western Union Telegraph Company, asking permission to
demonstrate it over their wires. That test never got set up, and in
1876, Alexander Graham Bell filed a patent.
Meucci instructed his lawyer to protest to the U.S. Patent Office,
but his lawyer failed to do so. A friend did contact the office, only
to learn that all the documents filed by Meucci had been lost. Later
investigation produced evidence of illegal relationships linking
certain employees of the Patent Office and officials of Bell's company.
Antonio Meucci was a brilliant inventor but a poor businessman.
Despite his lack of success in business, he most certainly invented the
telephone. He is honored in my district with a road named for him in
Copiague. I am proud that we, the entire House of Representatives,
today will honor this man who has been overlooked by history for too
long.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I add my voice to the praise
and honor of Antonio Meucci who, through his work toward the invention
of the telephone, has brought the world together as few others have.
Through his ingenuity and perseverance, this Italian-American changed
the way the world communicates, although as a newcomer to America, he
was often thwarted by his own inability to communicate with those who
could have, and should have given him the recognition he deserved.
Antonio Meucci came to America, pursuing his dream of introducing his
``Talking Telegraph'' to the world, and hoping to make a living doing
so. Instead, he struggled against his own meager beginnings--not having
the money or verbal skills he needed to protect his intellectual
property. He also struggled against the incompetence and greed of
others. Tragically, this extraordinary man's decade-long struggle for
justice ended in poverty and frustration. I am pleased that we are
finally helping him attain his rightful place in history.
I strongly support H.R. 269, honoring a man who embodies the travails
of the American Immigrant experience--Antonio Meucci, the true inventor
of the telephone.
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance
of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dan Miller of Florida). The question is
on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann
Davis) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H.
Res. 269.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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