First coin-operated telephone was patented this day in 1889 – This Day in Patent History

On Aug. 13, 1889 William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut, received a patent for a coin-operated telephone. Soon he formed the Gray Telephone Pay Station Company to market his invention.

The invention popularized the telephone. It made it possible to use the telephone in a public manner in public places.

The first public coin telephone was installed by inventor William Gray at a bank in Hartford, Conn. The earliest coin-operated phones were post-pay phones. Users paid coins after the call was made.

Sources: Todayinsci

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