The History of Answering Machines
According to "Adventures in Cybersound - Valdemar Poulsen":
Valdemar Poulsen, (b. Nov. 23, 1869, d. July 1942), Danish telephone engineer
and inventor, best known for his Telegraphone, which he patented in 1898. It was
the first practical apparatus for magnetic sound recording and reproduction. It
was an ingenious apparatus for recording telephone conversations. It recorded,
on a wire, the varying magnetic fields produced by a sound. The magnetized wire
could then be used to play back the sound.
According to Phontel:
Mr. Willy Müller invented the world's first automatic answering machine in 1935.
The first answering machine was a three-foot-tall machine popular with Orthodox
Jews who were forbidden to answer the phone on the Sabbath. The Ansafone,
created by inventor Dr. Kazuo Hashimoto (Phonetel), was the first answering
machine sold in the USA, beginning in 1960.
According to Casio from Casio TAD History (Telephone Answering Devices):
CASIO COMMUNICATIONS created the telephone answering device (TAD) industry as we
know it today by introducing the first commercially viable answering machine a
quarter of a century ago. The product - the Model 400 - is now featured in the
Smithsonian... ...In 1971, PhoneMate introduced one of the first commercially
viable answering machines, the Model 400. The unit weighs 10 pounds, screens
calls and holds 20 messages on a reel-to-reel tape. An earphone enables private
message retrieval.
The first digital tad was invented by Dr. Kazuo Hashimoto of Japan in mid-1983.
US patent 4,616,110 entitled Automatic Digital Telephone Answering.
Voicemail - Voice Mail
U.S. Patent No. 4,371,752 is the pioneer patent for what evolved into voice
mail, and that patent belongs to Gordon Matthews. Gordon Matthews held over
thirty-three patents. Gordon Matthews was the founder of the VMX company in
Dallas, Texas that produced the world’s first commercial voice mail system, he
has become known as the "Father of Voice Mail."
"When I call a business, I like to talk to a human" - Gordon Matthews.