Emile Berliner

• Born: May 20, 1851
• Birthplace: Hanover (now in Germany)
• Died: August 3, 1929
• Place of death: Washington, D.C

German American engineer

German immigrant Berliner’s fascination with science and audio technology led to improvements in the telephone, the invention of the flat-disc gramophone, and a prototype helicopter.

Primary fields: Acoustical engineering; aeronautics and aerospace technology; communications; music

Primary inventions: Gramophone; record disc; helicopter prototype

Early Life

Emile Berliner (EH-meel BUHR-lih-nuhr), one of thirteen children, was born in 1851 in Hanover (now in Germany) to Jewish parents. His father, Samuel, was a merchant and scholar, and his mother, Sarah Fridman, was a musician. Berliner’s appreciation for music prompted him to take lessons on piano and violin. At age fourteen, Berliner had already graduated from the Samsonschule in Wolfenbüttel, a reputable school of languages and science. In order to lend financial support to the family, he ended his schooling and worked as a printer, then as a clerk in a fabric store. His first invention was an improved loom for weaving cloth.

Berliner immigrated to the United States in 1870, when he accepted a position in a dry goods store in Washington, D.C. After three years, he moved to New York City, working various day jobs as a traveling salesman and dry goods clerk while studying at the Cooper Institute (now known as the Cooper Union, a prestigious fine arts and engineering college in Manhattan) at night.

In 1875, Berliner worked in Constantine Fahlberg’s research laboratory, which sparked his interests in inventing and science. A year later, Berliner returned to his position as a clerk in Washington, D.C. During the Centennial Exposition of 1876, Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone discovery occupied center stage. Berliner was fascinated with the new invention and decided to pursue the development of his own telephone. He spent long hours at the Cooper Institute library studying electricity and physics. By 1876, Berliner had invented a new telephone transmitter, essentially a carbon microphone, which was patented a year later.

Life’s Work

The year 1877 was pivotal for Berliner. His transmitter was purchased by the American Bell Telephone Company, and he was hired as a research assistant. First in New York, then in Boston, Berliner spent the next seven years devoted to the development of the telephone with Bell Telephone and as an entrepreneur. In 1881, Berliner became an American citizen, married Cora Adler, and resigned from Bell Telephone. The couple moved to a small house in Washington, D.C., where he established himself in the private sector. He continued to tinker with the telephone and transmitter, surrendering the rights to his patents to the Bell Company.

The invention of the gramophone in 1886 proved to be a major contribution to the music recording industry. Thomas Alva Edison had already invented the cylinder phonograph in 1877 but then directed his attention to incandescent lighting. Berliner’s gramophone represented a newer, more practical way of recording and reproducing sound—discs. His house on Columbia Road also served as center of operations for his gramophone business.

Berliner patented the gramophone in 1887, at the same time Edison returned to his work on the cylinder phonograph. Alexander Graham Bell’s Volta Laboratory had also introduced the graphophone, similar to Edison’s cylinder phonograph. Berliner’s disc sound system employed a needle that vibrated from side to side within grooves. His first disc recording was also produced that year. In 1890, Scientific American published a descriptive article, complete with illustrations of the new machine, that further promoted the commercial success of the Berliner Gramophone Company.

Berliner returned to Europe twice, in 1881 and 1888, to present lectures and publicize his gramophone. The Hanover Institute of Technology celebrated Berliner’s lecture and invention at the Electrotechnical Society of Berlin, firmly establishing the virtues of the gramophone. In 1900, a painting by Francis Barraud of a dog listening to a gramophone became the symbol for the Berliner Gramophone Company. Nipper the dog eventually became the trademark of the Victor Talking Machine Company, founded by colleague Eldridge R. Johnson.

Berliner’s love of music surfaced again later in life when he turned to composing. He had always deeply appreciated the opportunities afforded to him as an American citizen. He composed a patriotic song, “Columbia Anthem,” written for the 1897 national council of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The song was so well received that it was programmed by the U.S. Marine Band, performed at the White House, and served as a daily anthem sung by schoolchildren in Washington, D.C., and New York.

Berliner continued his experiments with musical instruments and acoustics. He developed a violin with the strings attached directly to the body of the instrument as a way to allow more unrestricted vibrations of the strings. For twenty years, he studied concert hall acoustics and invented acoustic tiles, acoustic cement, and parquet carpet to enhance sound production. The tiles could be applied to wall surfaces and were used in many buildings, including the Stanley Theater in Jersey City and the Leicester Theatre in London.

Berliner’s efforts to repay American society included health industry reforms. When Berliner’s daughter Alice became gravely ill because of a gastrointestinal condition, he concluded that the 30 percent mortality rate of infants was due to the use of raw milk. As a result of his extensive crusade for scalding milk and pasteurization, the federal government established specific milk standards.

He also championed women’s rights. Contrary to the beliefs of many male scientists of his era, Berliner held that women, given the proper opportunities, would excel in science as much as men. In honor of his mother, he established the Sarah Berliner Research Fellowship for physics, biology, and chemistry in 1908. From 1909 to 1926, awards were presented to women in those disciplines, extending to psychology, geology, and other fields.

Toward the end of his life, Berliner was preoccupied with his fascination with flight. As early as 1906, he pondered the possibilities of aircraft, constructing a helicopter prototype by 1907 and developing the first radial aircraft motor. By 1926, he had constructed three helicopters that had trial flights. He also continued experimenting with rotary motors, designing one version after another. In 1920, along with his son Henry, Berliner successfully launched a helicopter that lifted straight up and proceeded in a forward direction. In 1923, an advanced version hovered in the air for fifteen minutes. The era of the helicopter had arrived, and Emile Berliner and son Henry were celebrated as creators.

In a letter to Cora in 1928, Berliner noted his wishes for a simple, inexpensive funeral, with piano music performed by his daughter Alice. On August 3, 1929, Emile Berliner died from a heart attack. He was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Impact

The life of Berliner exemplifies the best of the human spirit. He immigrated to America with hopes of pursuing his dreams. With great resolve and patience, he conducted scientific investigations and experiments, forging new paths in communications, entertainment, acoustics, and aeronautical engineering. Berliner invented the flat-disc gramophone, the helicopter, the carbon microphone, acoustical tiles, and acoustic flooring. In 1913, the Franklin Institute awarded Berliner the Elliott Cresson Medal in recognition of his pioneering achievements in telephony and acoustics. The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., houses two of Berliner’s helicopters in tribute to his accomplishments in aerospace technology, a 1924 Berliner Helicopter No. 5 and a Berliner 1932 monocoupe that was featured in air shows.

Although proud to be an American citizen, Berliner revered his roots. Devoted to religion and philosophy, he authored many articles on Zionism in support of Israel and vigorously supported the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His convictions that one should not squander the blessings of American citizenship motivated him to thank America by advocating health industry reform and promoting women’s rights. Hundreds of thousands of children’s lives were spared because of Berliner’s effective crusade to better inform the public about the perils of substandard health practices.

Bibliography

Baumbach, Robert W. Look for the Dog. Los Angeles: Mulholland Press, 1981. Comprehensive guide to all Victor machines of Berliner’s designs. Catalog pictures and maintenance guides are included.

Brooks, Peter W. Cierva Autogiros: The Development of Rotary-Wing Flight. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988. An account of Spanish aeronautical engineer Juan de la Cierva, who invented the autogiro, predecessor of the helicopter.

Goldmann, Philipp. The Origin and History of the Family and Branches of the Berliners of Hannover, 1720-1997. Miami, Fla.: Author, 1997. The grandson of Berliner’s youngest sister, Goldmann privately published this historical look at the Berliner family. A copy resides in the Emile Berliner room at the Smithsonian Institution and is available from the author.

Marco, Guy A. Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound in the United States. New York: Garland, 1993. Pre-World War II comprehensive examination of recorded sound and the recording industry in the United States.

Wile, Frederic William. Emile Berliner, Maker of the Microphone. New York: Arno Press, 1974. Berliner’s involvement in the development of the gramophone, microphone, and flat discs is described. Includes information on Berliner’s views of public health and poetry.