EMILE BERLINER
BERLINER, EMILE, inventor, was born in Hanover, Germany, May 20, 185 L His parents were Samuel and Sally (Fridman) Berliner. His father was a merchant, but was fond of reading and study, and was especially well versed in the Talmud.
Emile Berliner attended the public schools until his tenth year, when he entered the Samson school, Wolfenbiittel, where he remained four years. He began the active work of life as clerk in a dry goods store. His spare time was given to reading, portrait painting, and the development of a talent for music, which he had inherited from his mother. At the age of nineteen he came to America. About five 3^ears later he turned his attention to the study of physical science, and began a series of experiments which resulted in the discovery of principles and the invention of instruments by the application and use of which the then existing telephone service was vastly improved. In 1879, he became chief instrument inspector for the Bell Telephone Company, at Boston, Massachusetts, which position he held for three years. The gramophone, a "talking machine" which he invented in 1887, by means of which sound is recorded and can be repeated an indefinite number of times, was constructed on a different principle from any hitherto used. This was the first machine to make use of a groove of even depth and varying direction, which not only vibrates, but also propels the stylus across the record. It attracted wide attention, and still remains a standard instrument of its class. Among his inventions are a loose contact telephone transmitter, induction coil in telephony, the multiphone, and several which are of minor importance. He is the author of "Conclusions," 1902; he has also published a number of scientific papers and pamphlets; and he occasionally lectures on scientific subjects. He is secretary' of a society "for the prevention of sickness"; and by his earnest and persistent efforts to secure a pure milk supply, he has done much to reduce the mortality among children in the District of Columbia.
