“Bell Patents Telephone,” & “Guthrie - First Female Indy 500 and Daytona 500 Racer” – This Day in History – Mar 7th

Bell patents his invention: The Telephone

Back in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone received its patent.

The 29-year-old Scottish-born inventor developed his invention here in the United States during his work as a teacher for Boston’s Pemberton Avenue School for the Deaf.  He would later meet his future wife, Mabel Hubbard at this school, who was one of his students. 

According to history.com, “While in Boston, Bell became very interested in the possibility of transmitting speech over wires. Samuel F.B. Morse's invention of the telegraph in 1843 had made nearly instantaneous communication possible between two distant points. The drawback of the telegraph, however, was that it still required hand-delivery of messages between telegraph stations and recipients, and only one message could be transmitted at a time. Bell wanted to improve on this by creating a "harmonic telegraph," a device that combined aspects of the telegraph and record player to allow individuals to speak to each other from a distance.” 

Bell, along with his assistant, Thomas A. Watson created an electric current to figure out the frequent and intensity to make sound waves.  They would beat a competitor’s patent, Elisha Gray by two hours and used the famous test phrase, “Mr. Watson, come here, I need you"--from Bell to his assistant. 

Bell had to fight for his patent in a U.S. Supreme court case against Gray and Western Union Telegraph Company who wanted Bell and Gray to work together to develop telephone technology for Western’s company.  Bell won the case and upheld his patent to create Bell Company and later the American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T).  Alexander Bell’s telephone invention changed the world in the development of the modern telecommunications industry. 

A timeline of Alexander Bell can be found here.

Janet Guthrie first woman to compete in Indy 500 and Daytona 500

Back in 1938, Iowa City, IA welcomed Janet Guthrie, the future first woman Indy Driver who would later compete in the Indy 500 and Daytona 500 Races. 

According to history.com, “Guthrie was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1960 with a degree in physics. After college, she worked as an aerospace engineer; however, by the early 1970s, her interest in sports car racing led her to devote herself full-time to the sport. In 1976, she was the first woman to compete in a National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) Winston Cup superspeedway race. The following year, she broke the gender barrier again, becoming the first female driver in the Daytona 500, where she finished in 12th place and earned Top Rookie honors.”

Ms. Guthrie earned a Rookie of the Year honors for her race in the 1978 Indy 500 race in which she finished ninth place.  Her driving legacy has been passed on to present female Indy 500 racer, Danica Patrick, who has finished fourth place back in 2005. 

History.com stated that, “Guthrie drove in her final Indy 500 in 1979 and her last Daytona 500 in 1980. In 1983, a lack of sponsors forced her to quit the male-dominated world of auto racing. In 2005, her autobiography, "Janet Guthrie: A Life at Full Throttle," was published and the following year she was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Today, her helmet and driver's suit are in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.”

All History facts provided from the link below:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/writers-guild-of-america-strike-begins?catId=12