Phonograph
Thomas Edison
The phonograph was created when Thomas Edison was working in telegraphy. Thomas Edison was trying to make something to record telephone conversations. He ended up inventing a system that was able to capture sound and play it back exactly the way it was recorded.
How the phonograph works:
As someone talks into the instrument a needle vibrates to their voice and engraves a wavy line into the device. When the cylinder is brought back to the start of the line, a second needle retraces the lines made by the first and the recording is played.
Patent
The patent for the phonograph was awarded to Thomas Edison on February 19, 1878 for creating a device that was able to capture sound. Edison's invention was a tin-foiled covered cylinder that was quickly improved by his competitor, Alexander Graham Bell. The updated phonograph was a wax cylinder that was able to play back a recording more than two or three times. As time went on, the two inventors took turns enhancing this magic machine.
After creating the phonograph, Thomas Edison was given the title "Wizard of Menlo Park." Edison was known greatly for this device and after working on the phonograph he continued further into the world of inventions.