Emile Berliner

Lore & Background

Emile Berliner was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1851 into a Jewish merchant family. He completed an apprenticeship as a merchant and worked as an accountant, but his real hobby was invention. To avoid being drafted in the Franco-Prussian War, he migrated to the United States in 1870, first working in a livery stable in Washington, D.C., and later moving to New York, where he studied physics at night at the Cooper Union Institute while doing temporary work. After working in a livery stable, Berliner became interested in audio technology and invented an improved telephone transmitter, one of the first microphones. The patent was acquired by the Bell Telephone Company but contested by Thomas Edison; in 1901, a U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the invalidation of Berliner's patent, but did not award full rights to Edison. Berliner moved to Boston in 1878, became a U.S. citizen in 1881, worked for Bell Telephone until 1883, then returned to Washington as a private researcher.

Reader's Guide

Berliner's most significant legacy is the invention of the lateral-cut flat disc record, which became the standard for recorded music and led to the founding of the United States Gramophone Company in 1894. His work on the gramophone transformed sound recording from a novelty into a mass-market medium. Additionally, his early telephone transmitter contributed to the development of microphones, though his patent was ultimately voided in favor of Edison. Berliner also pioneered helicopter technology, developing a rotary engine and a helicopter that lifted off the ground in 1909, and he demonstrated a helicopter for the U.S. Navy in 1922. His other inventions include a loom for mass-production of cloth and an acoustic tile. He advocated for public health, sanitation, and women's equality, and established the Sarah Berliner Research Fellowship in 1908. His work laid foundations for both the recording industry and vertical flight technology.

Did You Know?

• Berliner invented an improved telephone transmitter, one of the first microphones, but his patent was voided in 1901 by a U.S. Court of Appeals, which upheld the invalidation but did not award full rights to Thomas Ediso
• He founded the United States Gramophone Company in 1893 after persuading investors to provide $25,000.
• In 1909, a helicopter built by Berliner and J. Newton Williams lifted Williams from the ground on three occasions at Berliner's laboratory in Washington, D.C.
• Berliner established the Sarah Berliner Research Fellowship in 1908 in honor of his mother.

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