It's not certain whether it could be described as a telephone, but Philip Reis was actually the first man to transmit sound electrically.
Born and raised in Germany, Reis could already read German, French, English, Latin and Italian by the age of 10 and he was keenly interested in mathematics and science.
After a forced spell working in business he escaped to begin teaching Maths and Science. At the age of 26 Reis dreamed up the idea of reproducing sound by mirroring vibrations at either end of an electrified wire.
The invention was inspired but very primitive. He used the bung of a beer barrel, a piece of skin, a magnet, a coil of wire, a knitting needle, a violin, some platinum and, hey-presto, he created a talking-machine.
