90 Years: 1st Transatlantic Telephone Call

"How's the weather over in London?" On January 7, 1927, the first official transatlantic telephone call was made when W. S. Gifford, president of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), called Sir Evelyn P. Murray, secretary of the General Post Office of Great Britain, on the new commercial circuit. (Listen Online) But there is that word 'official'. One day before, a test call was made between two now unknown technicians distinguishable from each other by their American and British accents. Their conversation continued through a series of exercises to determine the quality of the connection. Then the American is heard to say, "Distance doesn't mean anything anymore. We are on the verge of a very highspeed world...". According to the Library of Congress, after the official call was completed on the 7th, the line was keep busy by pre-booked appointments at $75 per 3 minute call. It is estimated that approximately 6 million dollars of business transactions were connected to those calls. A good beginning to a spectacular year!

(ABOVE IMAGE: Walter S. Gifford places the first commercial transatlantic telephone call. Photograph: AP)

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'90 Years' blog entries will feature historical happenings and news that surrounded the Long family at the beginning of our Cadillac dealership in 1927