A telephone call, which for marketing purposes is claimed to be the ''first transcontinental telephone call'', occurred on January 25, 1915, a day timed to coincide with the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

celebrations. However, the transcontinental

telephone line A telephone line or telephone circuit (or just line or circuit industrywide) is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system. It is designed to reproduce speech of a quality that is understandable. It is the physical wire or oth ...

was first completed on June 17, 1914, and successfully first voice tested in July 1914. A 1998 U.S. postage stamp commemorates the completion of the line in 1914.

Background

The original long-distance telephone network actually started in 1885, in New York City. By 1892 this line reached

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. After introducing

loading coil A loading coil or load coil is an inductor that is inserted into an electronic circuit to increase its inductance. The term originated in the 19th century for inductors used to prevent signal distortion in long-distance telegraph transmission c ...

s in 1899, the long-distance line continued west, and by 1911 it reached

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. The president of AT&T,

Theodore Vail Theodore Newton Vail (July 16, 1845 – April 16, 1920) was an American businessman who served as the general manager of the Bell Telephone Company from 1878 to 1887 and became the founding president of American Telephone and Telegraph Company ...

, committed the company to a transcontinental line in 1909. On June 17, 1914, after affixing of telephone line, workers raised the final pole at

Wendover, Utah Wendover is a city on the western edge of Tooele County, Utah, Tooele County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Description Wendover is on the western border of Utah and is contiguous ...

, actually on the border between Nevada and Utah state lines. Then,

, the president of AT&T, succeeded in transmitting his voice across the continental U.S. in July 1914. Six months later, amidst the celebrations surrounding the

, on January 25, 1915,

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...

, in New York City, repeated his famous statement "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you," into the telephone, which was heard by his assistant Thomas Augustus Watson in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, for a long-distance call of . Watson replied, "It will take me five days to get there now!" The Alexander Graham Bell call officially initiated AT&T's transcontinental service. The phone call was merely symbolic. Dr. Watson was at 333 Grant Avenue in

to receive the call, placed by Bell from the Telephone Building at 15 Dey Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

and the mayors of both cities were also involved in the call as was Theodore Vail listening in from

Jekyll Island Jekyll Island is an island located in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self-g ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Later, President

spoke to an audience in San Francisco from

the White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 whe ...

and is quoted as saying "It appeals to the imagination to speak across the continent." However, President Wilson was concerned with the "devaluation of the individual" as AT&T celebrated the achievement of the company rather than distinguishing individual inventors, contributors, and innovators.

References

External links

"Mr. Watson -- come here!"
Library of Congress. July 27, 2010.

. New York Times (reproduced article). January 26, 1915. * *{{cite book, author1=American Telephone and Telegraph Company, title=The story of a great achievement, date=1915, publisher=Bartlett-Orr press, location=New York, url=https://archive.org/details/storyofgreatachi00amerrich, access-date=9 October 2015
"Views Along the Route of the First Transcontinental Telephone Line from New York to San Francisco"
9-minute AT&T silent film. Hagley Library Digital Archives AT&T Bell System History of telecommunications in the United States History of engineering