BERLINER, EMIL:

American inventor; born in Hanover, Germany May 20, 1851. He was educated at the public schools of his native place and at the Samson Schule, Wolfenbüttel, whence he was graduated in 1865. In 1870 he emigrated to America, settling in Washington, D. C., where he has lived since 1882. He invented the loose-contact telephone transmitter, or microphone, known as "The Berliner," and now universally employed in the telephone and of the utmost importance in its practical use. He is also the inventor of the gramophone and other valuable devices. Berliner is a member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and since 1879 has been a frequent contributor to scientific publications in the United States and Germany. He is, besides, the author of "Conclusions," Philadelphia, 1899. In 1881 he married Cora Adler of Washington, D. C.

Bibliography:
  • Who's Who in America, 1899-1900, and private sources.
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