U.S. Events: The First Transcontinental Telephone Call

 
On the Afternoon of January 25th, 1915 the first transcontinental telephone call was made by inventor Alexander Graham Bell in New York City, New York, connecting him to Thomas A. Watson in San Francisco, California. This achievement was made possible by the American Telephone & Telegraph, a distant relative of the AT&T telephone company still in operation today. Designed to coincide with the 1915 World's Fair in San Francisco, this feat hinged on the new development of signal amplifiers designed to ensure a clear connection across the great distance. The implementation of this transcontinental line allowed for easy, nearly instant telephone communication between both coasts of the United States and everywhere in between. Also participating in this first call were Theodore Vail, president of American Telephone & Telegraph, William Rockefeller, co-founder of Standard Oil, and J.P. Morgan Jr., a notable New York City banker.

Connection Across Continents
Following this breakthrough in long distance communication through the used of amplifiers to combat signal loss, transatlantic lines would be laid in the coming years allowed for the first transatlantic phone call between New York City and London in 1926.