Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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The first sound recording is often credited to Thomas Edison, but in 1857, a typographer named Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville actually beat him by inventing the phonautograph, a device designed to capture sound waves on paper. It was never meant to be heard, but more than 150 years later, researchers were able to reproduce the sound and bring it back to life. It’s an amazing story - and it happened almost on accident.
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LINKS LINKS LINKS
oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191735622.timeline.0001;jsessionid=153847A69296CEA787DFCDCB04E4736E
americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1829m.html
thoughtco.com/inventions-nineteenth-century-4144740
gratefulamericanfoundation.org/who-invented-the-first-typewriter
americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1829m.html
editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/typographer
https://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/hear-my-voice/2.html
firstsounds.org/research/scott.php
napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/edouard-leon-scott-de-martinvilles-phonautographe
npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89380697
time.com/5084599/first-recorded-sound
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard-L%C3%A9on_Scott_de_Martinville
nps.gov/edis/learn/historyculture/origins-of-sound-recording-edouard-leon-scott-de-martinville.htm
napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/edouard-leon-scott-de-martinvilles-phonautographe
npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/05/22/529550254/at-the-dawn-of-recorded-sound-no-one-cared
laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/edison-vs-scott
napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/edouard-leon-scott-de-martinvilles-phonautographe
firstsounds.org/sounds/Scott-Feaster-No-36.mp3
laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/edison-vs-scott
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ly_au_clair_de_la_lune_accords_melodie_paroles.mid
phonozoic.net
firstsounds.org/sounds/Scott-Feaster-No-44.mp3
napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/edouard-leon-scott-de-martinvilles-phonautographe
firstsounds.org/sounds/1860-Vocal-Scale-05-09.mp3
nps.gov/edis/learn/historyculture/origins-of-sound-recording-charles-cros.htm
scihi.org/charles-cros
loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-cylinder-phonograph
charm.rhul.ac.uk/history/p20_4_1.html
museumofmagneticsoundrecording.org/EducationOberlinSmith.html
https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/valdemar-poulsen
victrola.com/blogs/articles/beyond-the-needle-history-of-vinyl-records
timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-sound-recording--2
djmag.com/news/new-technology-beams-music-directly-your-head-without-headphones
noveto.com
https://news.mit.edu/2014/algorithm-recovers-speech-from-vibrations-0804
http://people.csail.mit.edu/mrub/VisualMic/
youtube.com/watch?v=2i1hrywDwPo
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_recorder
recording-history.org/history-of-digital-recording
INTRO
0:00 - Intro Sketch
1:25 - The 1860s Technologically
4:40 - The Phonautograph
6:21 - The Phonograph
8:38 - Tuning Fork Timecodes
9:14 - Oldest Human Voice Recording
10:17 - Au Clair de la Lune vs The Oldest Recording
11:16 - Audio Advancements
15:30 - Sponsor - Nebula
Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/joescott
Make sure and check out my exclusive series on Mysteries of the Human Body nebula.tv/joescottmysteries
The first sound recording is often credited to Thomas Edison, but in 1857, a typographer named Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville actually beat him by inventing the phonautograph, a device designed to capture sound waves on paper. It was never meant to be heard, but more than 150 years later, researchers were able to reproduce the sound and bring it back to life. It’s an amazing story - and it happened almost on accident.
Want to support the channel? Here's how:
Patreon: patreon.com/answerswithjoe
Channel Memberships: youtube.com/channel/UC-2YHgc363EdcusLIBbgxzg/join
T-Shirts & Merch: answerswithjoe.com/store
Check out my 2nd channel, Joe Scott TMI:
youtube.com/channel/UCqi721JsXlf0wq3Z_cNA_Ew
And my podcast channel, Conversations With Joe:
youtube.com/channel/UCJzc7TiJ2nnuyJkUpOZ8RKA
You can listen to my podcast, Conversations With Joe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Spotify 👉 spoti.fi/37iPGzF
Apple Podcasts 👉 apple.co/3j94kfq
Google Podcasts 👉 bit.ly/3qZCo1V
Interested in getting a Tesla or going solar? Use my referral link and get discounts and perks:
https://ts.la/joe74700
Follow me at all my places!
Instagram: instagram.com/answerswithjoe
TikTok: tiktok.com/@answerswithjoe
Facebook: facebook.com/answerswithjoe
Twitter: twitter.com/answerswithjoe
LINKS LINKS LINKS
oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191735622.timeline.0001;jsessionid=153847A69296CEA787DFCDCB04E4736E
americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1829m.html
thoughtco.com/inventions-nineteenth-century-4144740
gratefulamericanfoundation.org/who-invented-the-first-typewriter
americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1829m.html
editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/typographer
https://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/hear-my-voice/2.html
firstsounds.org/research/scott.php
napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/edouard-leon-scott-de-martinvilles-phonautographe
npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89380697
time.com/5084599/first-recorded-sound
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard-L%C3%A9on_Scott_de_Martinville
nps.gov/edis/learn/historyculture/origins-of-sound-recording-edouard-leon-scott-de-martinville.htm
napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/edouard-leon-scott-de-martinvilles-phonautographe
npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/05/22/529550254/at-the-dawn-of-recorded-sound-no-one-cared
laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/edison-vs-scott
napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/edouard-leon-scott-de-martinvilles-phonautographe
firstsounds.org/sounds/Scott-Feaster-No-36.mp3
laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/edison-vs-scott
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ly_au_clair_de_la_lune_accords_melodie_paroles.mid
phonozoic.net
firstsounds.org/sounds/Scott-Feaster-No-44.mp3
napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/objects/edouard-leon-scott-de-martinvilles-phonautographe
firstsounds.org/sounds/1860-Vocal-Scale-05-09.mp3
nps.gov/edis/learn/historyculture/origins-of-sound-recording-charles-cros.htm
scihi.org/charles-cros
loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-cylinder-phonograph
charm.rhul.ac.uk/history/p20_4_1.html
museumofmagneticsoundrecording.org/EducationOberlinSmith.html
https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/valdemar-poulsen
victrola.com/blogs/articles/beyond-the-needle-history-of-vinyl-records
timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-sound-recording--2
djmag.com/news/new-technology-beams-music-directly-your-head-without-headphones
noveto.com
https://news.mit.edu/2014/algorithm-recovers-speech-from-vibrations-0804
http://people.csail.mit.edu/mrub/VisualMic/
youtube.com/watch?v=2i1hrywDwPo
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_recorder
recording-history.org/history-of-digital-recording
INTRO
0:00 - Intro Sketch
1:25 - The 1860s Technologically
4:40 - The Phonautograph
6:21 - The Phonograph
8:38 - Tuning Fork Timecodes
9:14 - Oldest Human Voice Recording
10:17 - Au Clair de la Lune vs The Oldest Recording
11:16 - Audio Advancements
15:30 - Sponsor - Nebula
