In the world of great inventionswe often find stories of eccentric geniuses or dedicated scientists.
However, the case of Almon Brown Strowger is unique: an undertaker whose personal frustration led him to invent the automatic switch, forever changing the course of communications.
At the end of the 19th century, in bustling Kansas City, Strowger ran a funeral home. At that time, the telephone had become an essential tool for business and calls were connected manually by operators.
One day, Strowger noticed a worrying decrease in income. Upon investigation, he discovered that the local operator, the wife of one of his competitors, diverted calls intended for her company to her husband’s.
This manipulation not only affected their business, but highlighted a broader problem: vulnerability and lack of privacy in the manual telephone system.
Driven by outrage and the need to protect his personal finances, Strowger decided to eliminate the human middleman.
If he could create a system that automatically connected calls, it would not only solve his problem, but also improve the efficiency and reliability of the service for everyone.
Teacher, soldier, businessman
But who was this man before becoming an inventor? Born on February 11, 1839 in Penfield, New York, Strowger came from a pioneer family; His grandfather was the second settler and the first miller of the place.
Almon studied at the elementary school in his hometown and, at a very early age, became a teacher. When their mother assigned chores to her children, they often tried devise machines that would do the work for themshowing from early on an inclination for invention and mechanization.
At the end of 1892, Strowger’s company put into operation the world’s first automatic telephone switching exchange. It was in La Porte, Indiana. It had only 75 subscribers.
In 1861, with the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a volunteer in the 8th New York Cavalry Regiment. He is believed to have participated in the Second Battle of Bull Run near Manassas, Virginia. After the armistice, he lived in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Kansas, where He continued working as a rural teacher before venturing into the funeral business.
In 1886, Strowger established a funeral home in North Topeka, which he later moved to Kansas. For this type of company, the telephone was a key tool. The experience with the dishonest operator led him to conceive the idea of an automatic telephone system.
Without formal training in electrical engineering, he began developing his idea in 1888. His first prototype was built with a round cardboard box, used for shirt collars, and a few hat pins. The pins represented the telephone lines and connections, and a pencil acted as a dial. A precarious model.
Recognizing the need for technical and financial supportStrowger sought the help of his nephew Walter, who had electrical knowledge and financial resources.
Together, and with the collaboration of his brother Arnold and other associates, they perfected the design. In March 1889, he requested the patent for your inventionwhich was granted a year later with the number US447918, titled “Automatic telephone exchange.”
Strowger and his nephew moved to Chicago, where they considered they would have more possibilities for marketing.
There, they reached an agreement with Joseph B. Harris and Moses A. Meyer to finance the construction of 20 selectors. The company Union Model Works manufactured the devices and in 1891 the four joined forces to create the Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company.
With the aim of publicizing the system and obtaining more funding, they held numerous exhibitions. In 1892, the Brush Electric Co. of Baltimore sent its engineer Alexander E. Keith to study the system. Keith was so impressed with the usefulness of the invention that he decided to quit his job and join Strowger’s company.
The great debut
In late 1892, the company established the world’s first automatic telephone switching exchange in La Porte, Indiana, where Strowger was residing at the time. With 75 subscribers and capacity for 99 lines, this achievement marked a milestone in the history of telecommunications. Although the mechanism had been improved, it initially only had 100 positions.
Not satisfied, Strowger designed a new version of the selector with 1,000 contacts, for which he obtained patent US486909.
In 1893, he presented the new system to the large auditorium of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This event was crucial for promoting your invention and attracted the attention of investors and professionals in the sector.
That same year, the company joined Western Electric, allowing a significant expansion. Improvements were made to the La Porte plant and new facilities were established in locations as diverse as Albuquerque, Mexico, Trinidad and Colorado.
At last, the Strowger switch allowed users to connect their calls without operator intervention, establishing a direct connection and improving the privacy and efficiency of telephone service.
Despite his monumental contribution, Strowger did not derive much financial benefit from his invention. In 1896, He sold his patents to his collaborators for $1,800. and, in 1898, his share in the company for 10,000.
As the firm he founded prospered and its engineers continued to improve design, Strowger retreated from the tech scene.
In 1916, the company He sold his patents to Alexander Graham Bell’s company for 2.5 million dollars. Strowger’s wife, Susan, complained that her husband had been given 10,000 for an invention worth 1,000,000.
This disparity highlights the injustices that inventors often face regarding remuneration for their innovations.
On May 26, 1902, at the age of 63, Almon Brown Strowger died of an aneurysm. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, and his tombstone bears the inscription: “Lieut. AB Strowger, Co. A, 8 NY Cav”, in honor of his military service.
Over time, his contribution was recognized. In 1945, directors of the company he founded placed a bronze plaque on his grave as a tribute to the inventor of automatic switching.
In 1965, he was inducted into the Independent American Telephone Association (USTA) Hall of Fame.
Strowger’s story highlights the difficulties inventors face in Protect and benefit from your creations.
The disparity between what he received for his patents and the value they subsequently generated is an example of the complexities of the market of technological innovations.
