Thomas Watson (inventor)

Thomas Augustus Watson (18 January 1854 – 13 December 1934) was an assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, notably in the invention of the telephone.

He is best known because his name is reportedly the first word spoken over the telephone. "Watson! Come here, I need you!", were allegedly the first words Bell said using the new invention. Sources differ on whether the exact word used was "need" or "want". Watson himself remembered it as being "I want you" in a recording he made reminiscing about the events leading up to the first telephone call.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Watson founded the Fore River Ship and Engine Company in 1883. It would later become one of the major shipyards during World War II, after being purchased by Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

He died at his winter home in Pass-Grille Key, Florida.

External link

• Mr. Watson, Come Here, I Want You! – Lost and Found Sound, NPR programme on the first telephone call.