On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the first known recording of an audible human voice.

Phonautograph

Earliest known device for recording sound

The phonautograph is the earliest known device for recording sound. Previously, tracings had been obtained of the sound-producing vibratory motions of tuning forks and other objects by physical contact with them, but not of actual sound waves as they propagated through air or…

Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville

French printer and inventor (1817–1879)

Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville was a French printer, bookseller and inventor.

History of sound recording

The history of sound recording - which has progressed in waves, driven by the invention and commercial introduction of new technologies — can be roughly divided into four main periods:The Acoustic era (1877–1925) The Electrical era (1925–1945) The Magnetic era (1945–1975) The…