First official transatlantic telephone conversation
January 7, 1927
The idea that one can speak to anyone, anywhere in the world, instantly, is a new one. International calls that used to be held over cumbersome land lines were difficult and expensive. However, even that level of communication was not conceived of until AT&T created a viable mode of transmission from one continent to another.
All the salient facts regarding the first official transatlantic telephone conversation can be found in Cary O’Dell and SheldonHochheiser’s excellent essay at the National Recording Registry web site. The advance meant that transcontinental conversations, business matters, and new reports could be transmitted instantly. The limitations of time and space were shrinking.
The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Up next: the Victor Talking Machine Company session in Bristol, Tennessee.
