---
title: "Edison Demonstrates Phonograph"
year: 1877
country: "United States"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1877/phonograph-invention"
slug: "phonograph-invention"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1877-01-01"
---

# Edison Demonstrates Phonograph

> Thomas Edison's first practical audio recording machine astonished the world and initiated the era of recorded sound, transforming entertainment and communication forever.

On December 6, 1877, Thomas Edison demonstrated the phonograph—a device that could record sound onto tinfoil-wrapped cylinders and play it back—at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. It was the first practical machine ever built to capture and reproduce human speech and music, fundamentally changing how people could store, share, and experience sound.

## Summary

Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks (EDSN) was a failed CubeSat constellation by NASA Ames, developed as a technology demonstration of satellite networking. The constellation would have consisted of 8 identical satellites. The satellites followed the CubeSat specifications for a 1.5U CubeSat.

## Key facts

- **Date of First Demonstration**: December 6, 1877
- **Location**: Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory
- **Recording Medium**: Tinfoil-wrapped cylinder
- **First Recorded Words**: "Mary had a little lamb"
- **Playback Method**: Stylus vibrating against grooves to produce sound
- **Notable Witness**: Staff at Scientific American

## Timeline

- **1877-07-18** - Edison Conceives the Phonograph
  Edison sketches initial design concepts for a sound-recording device, inspired by telegraph technology and experiments with acoustic vibrations.
- **1877-11-29** - First Recorded Words
  Edison records and plays back "Mary had a little lamb" on a tinfoil cylinder, confirming the basic principle works.
- **1877-12-06** - Public Demonstration at Menlo Park
  Edison demonstrates the phonograph to visitors and Scientific American staff, playing back recorded speech and music from tinfoil cylinders.
- **1877-12-18** - Patent Application Filed
  Edison files a patent application for the phonograph with the U.S. Patent Office.
- **1878-02-19** - Patent Granted
  U.S. Patent No. 200,521 is granted to Thomas Edison for the phonograph.

## Impact

Edison's phonograph dissolved the boundary between live and recorded sound, setting the template for every music and voice technology that followed. The machine proved that information could be physically encoded and retrieved—a principle that would underpin everything from vinyl records to digital audio.

## Sources

- [Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Demonstration_of_Smallsat_Networks) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1877/phonograph-invention