The New International Encyclopædia/Speaking Trumpet

SPEAKING TRUMPET. An instrument for concentrating the waves of sound originated by the articulation of the human voice, and thereby enabling the sound to be conveyed to a greater distance. It was used on shipboard in enabling the officers to convey orders during windy weather from one part of the deck to another, or to the rigging, and in its more modern form, the megaphone (q.v.) is extensively employed. The invention is ascribed to Sir Samuel Morland (1625-1695) in 1670, though Athanasius Kircher laid claim to it. Morland's trumpet was shaped like a truncated cone, with an outward curve or lip at the opening.