Emile Berliner - Discoverers, Life Achievements and Childhood
Emile Berliner's Personal Details
Emile Berliner was a renowned American inventor with many inventions to his credit; which include the gramophone
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | May 20, 1851 |
| Died on | August 3, 1929 |
| Nationality | American |
| Famous | Inventors & Discoverers, Discoverers, Inventors |
| Spouses | Cora Adler |
| Known as | Émile Berliner, Emil Berliner |
| Childrens | Henry Berliner, Oliver Berliner |
| Universities |
|
| Founder / Co-Founder |
|
| Discoveries / Inventions |
|
| Birth Place | Hanover |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Gender | Male |
| Sun Sign | Taurus |
| Born in | Hanover |
| Famous as | Inventor |
| Died at Age | 78 |
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Emile Berliner's photo
Who is Emile Berliner?
Emile Berliner was a famous American inventor who is best known for his invention of gramophone. Born in Germany, this innovator fled his war torn country and settled in the United States. Despite dire financial circumstances, he was insistent in his quest to attain knowledge and worked odd jobs during the day while attending college at night. With his inquisitive bend of mind he was intrigued by the invention of Abraham Graham Bell and began studying the telephonic device. Even with the basic knowledge he possessed in physics, Berliner was able to design a transmitter that provided better amplification of the audio. The American Bell Telephone Company were impressed by his skills and offered him a position where he worked with acoustics. He continued with his inventions and came up with many innovative ideas which included a loom for spinning fabric that enabled mass production and a light-weight engine that could be used in helicopter. Utilising his experience with sound and acoustics, he came up with a tile that could be used to amplify the sound within concert halls. However his most notable invention was the gramophone which beckoned a new era in sound recording. He even founded the Berliner Gramophone Company to manufacture the device. Read on to know more about his life and works
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Childhood & Early Life
Emile Berliner was born to parents Samuel and Sarah Fridman Berliner on May 20, 1851 in the Hanover city of Germany. The Berliners’ were a large family with eleven children and while Samuel was a teacher of religious texts Sarah specialised in music.
Emile completed his studies from schools in Hanover, Wolfenbuttel and Samsonschule, in the year 1865.
Career
After completing his training to become a merchant, he started work as an accountant. Though he was passionate about inventing new objects and solving problems, his financial conditions prohibited him from pursuing his dreams.
He left the war torn country and landed in Washington D.C., United States in 1870. In the new city he worked a clerical job at ‘Gotthelf, Behrend and Co’, which was partially owned by his friend’s father.
In 1873, he moved to the New York City and worked odd jobs during the day to make ends meet. At night,Emile attended the ‘Cooper Union Institute’ where he studied subjects like physics.
During the period 1873-76, he worked as a travelling salesman for a clothing retailer in the city of Milwaukee for a while and then returned to New York to work as a cleaning person in the office of renowned chemist Constantin Fahlberg. It was this exposure to the world of scientific research that fuelled his desire to take up a career in this field.
In 1876, Berliner shifted back to Washington and re-joined ‘Gotthelf, Behrend and Co’ as a clerk. It was during the same time that Alexander Graham Bell was credited with the invention of telephone. The instrument piqued the interest of Berliner and he set about studying the device.
He focussed on improving the quality of audio transmitted through the mouth piece of the telephone. Working diligently he designed and developed a high quality transmitter which allowed amplification of the transmitted audio. The device, which he named as a “loose contact” transmitter, was one of the first microphones ever developed in the world.
Impressed by the simplicity and ingenuity of the transmitter, the ‘American Bell Telephone Company’ offered Berliner a position of a research assistant in the company and even sought the patent for his invention.
In 1877, Emile joined the ABT Co. and moved to Boston from New York. In the company he was involved with the telephone industry and made significant contributions in this regard; meanwhile gaining the reputation as an accomplished electrician.
In 1881, he was granted American citizenship and in the same year he exchanged nuptial vows with Cora Adler.
In 1883, he came up with an innovative floor covering, which he patented under the name “Parquet Carpet”.
In 1884, the industrious inventor left his job at ABT Co. to pursue his dream of inventing new objects. He moved from Boston to Washington with his wife and the couple settled in the city.
In Washington he continued to work on the telephonic device invented by Graham Bell and managed to introduce several improvements. He then sold his patents for his inventions to the ‘Bell Telephone Company’.
Starting in 1886 he embarked on the study of methods to record sound and thus came into the being the world’s first ever “Gramophone”. The device was a huge improvement over the existing methods and revolutionized the world of sound recording.
Initially manufactured as a miniature toy device that was hand-driven in the European continent, Emile came up with the ‘Berliner Gramophone Company’ in 1895, which marketed the full–sized replica of the toy model and seven-inch record for sound recording.
He then collaborated with Eldridge R Johnson who was an engineer by profession to develop a motor driven model of the gramophone. The duo developed a motor that comprised of a wind up spring which was used to rotate the disc at a steady pace.
After being a victim of fraudulent practices, when Berliner was banned from selling his own products in the US, his manufacturer Eldridge established the ‘Victor Talking Machine Company’ in 1901 and Emile was a co-founder of the organisation.
In the mid-1900s, the ‘US Berliner Gramophone Company’ shut down its operations and Emile relocated to Canada. He started the ‘Berliner Gramophone Company of Canada’ in 1904 and five years later restructured his business to merge the Canadian wing with the parent company, ‘Berliner Gramophone Co.’
Sometime during 1906-07, Berliner got involved with the study of flying machines and set about inventing a light weight IC engine which could be used in the helicopters.
He obtained the patent for the model of a helicopter which could lift two people in 1909. It was in the same year that he founded the ‘Gyro Motor Company’ which manufactured the rotary engine developed by him.
Throughout the next two decades till 1926, he was devoted to the study of technologies related to vertical flight and perfected his model of IC engine in collaboration with R.S. Moore.
Continuing his work on acoustics, the renowned inventor came up with a method of creating tiles that could provide better resonance. The tiles made up of porous cement were patented under the name “Acoustic tiles”, in 1926.
The ‘Gyro Motor Company’ entered a merger with the ‘Maryland Aviation Commission’ in 1929 and thus came into being the ‘Berliner Joyce Aircraft’.
The eminent inventor also developed a prototype of weaving machine which could be used for mass production of fabric.
A staunch supporter of public health and hygiene, Emile has even penned several books on the topic. ‘The Milk Question and Mortality Among Children Here and in Germany: An Observation’, ‘Some Neglected Essentials in the Fight against Consumption’, ‘A Study Towards the Solution of Industrial Problems in the New Zionist Commonwealth’,‘Muddy Jim and other rhymes’, are some of his written works.
Major Works
Berliner is credited with many significant inventions but his invaluable contribution was the invention of gramophone which heralded a new era in the world of sound recording. Another of his invention that revolutionized the aviation industry was the light weight IC engine which could successfully power the rotors of a helicopter.
Awards & Achievements
The science museum of ‘Franklin Institute’ in Philadelphia presented him the ‘John Scott Medal’ in 1897.
The renowned inventor was honoured by the Franklin Institute’s highest award the ‘Elliott Cresson Medal’, in the year 1913.
Emile Berliner was awarded the Franklin medal in 1929; which was the science award presented by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia.
Personal Life & Legacy
Emile was married to Cora Adler in the year 1881, the same year he was officially declared an American national.Their son Henry Berliner was the founder of the ‘Berliner Aircraft Company’.
The eminent inventor breathed his last on August 3, 1929 in Washington DC. His death was caused by a heart attack and he was interred at the ‘Rock Creek Cemetry’.
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Emile Berliner's awards
| Year | Name | Award |
|---|---|---|
Other | ||
| 0 | 1987 - Grammy Trustees Award | |
| 0 | Elliott Cresson Medal | |
| 0 | 2000 - Juno Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award | |
Emile Berliner biography timelines
- // 20th May 1851Emile Berliner was born to parents Samuel and Sarah Fridman Berliner on May 20, 1851 in the Hanover city of Germany. The Berliners’ were a large family with eleven children and while Samuel was a teacher of religious texts Sarah specialised in music.
- // 1865Emile completed his studies from schools in Hanover, Wolfenbuttel and Samsonschule, in the year 1865.
- // 1870He left the war torn country and landed in Washington D.C., United States in 1870. In the new city he worked a clerical job at ‘Gotthelf, Behrend and Co’, which was partially owned by his friend’s father.
- // 1873In 1873, he moved to the New York City and worked odd jobs during the day to make ends meet. At night,Emile attended the ‘Cooper Union Institute’ where he studied subjects like physics.
- // 1873 To 1876During the period 1873-76, he worked as a travelling salesman for a clothing retailer in the city of Milwaukee for a while and then returned to New York to work as a cleaning person in the office of renowned chemist Constantin Fahlberg. It was this exposure to the world of scientific research that fuelled his desire to take up a career in this field.
- // 1876In 1876, Berliner shifted back to Washington and re-joined ‘Gotthelf, Behrend and Co’ as a clerk. It was during the same time that Alexander Graham Bell was credited with the invention of telephone. The instrument piqued the interest of Berliner and he set about studying the device.
- // 1877In 1877, Emile joined the ABT Co. and moved to Boston from New York. In the company he was involved with the telephone industry and made significant contributions in this regard; meanwhile gaining the reputation as an accomplished electrician.
- // 1881In 1881, he was granted American citizenship and in the same year he exchanged nuptial vows with Cora Adler.
- // 1881Emile was married to Cora Adler in the year 1881, the same year he was officially declared an American national.Their son Henry Berliner was the founder of the ‘Berliner Aircraft Company’.
- // 1883In 1883, he came up with an innovative floor covering, which he patented under the name “Parquet Carpet”.
- // 1884In 1884, the industrious inventor left his job at ABT Co. to pursue his dream of inventing new objects. He moved from Boston to Washington with his wife and the couple settled in the city.
- // 1886Starting in 1886 he embarked on the study of methods to record sound and thus came into the being the world’s first ever “Gramophone”. The device was a huge improvement over the existing methods and revolutionized the world of sound recording.
- // 1895Initially manufactured as a miniature toy device that was hand-driven in the European continent, Emile came up with the ‘Berliner Gramophone Company’ in 1895, which marketed the full–sized replica of the toy model and seven-inch record for sound recording.
- // 1897The science museum of ‘Franklin Institute’ in Philadelphia presented him the ‘John Scott Medal’ in 1897.
- // 1901After being a victim of fraudulent practices, when Berliner was banned from selling his own products in the US, his manufacturer Eldridge established the ‘Victor Talking Machine Company’ in 1901 and Emile was a co-founder of the organisation.
- // 1904In the mid-1900s, the ‘US Berliner Gramophone Company’ shut down its operations and Emile relocated to Canada. He started the ‘Berliner Gramophone Company of Canada’ in 1904 and five years later restructured his business to merge the Canadian wing with the parent company, ‘Berliner Gramophone Co.’
- // 1906Sometime during 1906-07, Berliner got involved with the study of flying machines and set about inventing a light weight IC engine which could be used in the helicopters.
- // 1909He obtained the patent for the model of a helicopter which could lift two people in 1909. It was in the same year that he founded the ‘Gyro Motor Company’ which manufactured the rotary engine developed by him.
- // 1913The renowned inventor was honoured by the Franklin Institute’s highest award the ‘Elliott Cresson Medal’, in the year 1913.
- // 1926Throughout the next two decades till 1926, he was devoted to the study of technologies related to vertical flight and perfected his model of IC engine in collaboration with R.S. Moore.
- // 1926Continuing his work on acoustics, the renowned inventor came up with a method of creating tiles that could provide better resonance. The tiles made up of porous cement were patented under the name “Acoustic tiles”, in 1926.
- // 1929The ‘Gyro Motor Company’ entered a merger with the ‘Maryland Aviation Commission’ in 1929 and thus came into being the ‘Berliner Joyce Aircraft’.
- // 1929Emile Berliner was awarded the Franklin medal in 1929; which was the science award presented by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia.
- // 3rd Aug 1929The eminent inventor breathed his last on August 3, 1929 in Washington DC. His death was caused by a heart attack and he was interred at the ‘Rock Creek Cemetry’.
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Emile Berliner's FAQ
What is Emile Berliner birthday?
Emile Berliner was born at 1851-05-20
When was Emile Berliner died?
Emile Berliner was died at 1929-08-03
Where was Emile Berliner died?
Emile Berliner was died in Washington, D.C.
Which age was Emile Berliner died?
Emile Berliner was died at age 78
Where is Emile Berliner's birth place?
Emile Berliner was born in Hanover
What is Emile Berliner nationalities?
Emile Berliner's nationalities is American
Who is Emile Berliner spouses?
Emile Berliner's spouses is Cora Adler
Who is Emile Berliner childrens?
Emile Berliner's childrens is Henry Berliner, Oliver Berliner
What was Emile Berliner universities?
Emile Berliner studied at Cooper Union
Which company or organization was founded by Emile Berliner?
Emile Berliner was the founder/co-founder of Berliner Gramophone, Gramophone Company, Victor Talking Machine Company, Berliner Gram-o-phone Company of Canada, RCA Records, Deutsche Grammophon
What is Emile Berliner's inventions/discoveries?
Disc Record Gramaphone, Phonograph was invented (or discovered) by Emile Berliner
What is Emile Berliner's religion?
Emile Berliner's religion is Judaism
What is Emile Berliner's sun sign?
Emile Berliner is Taurus
How famous is Emile Berliner?
Emile Berliner is famouse as Inventor