Kelly Monroe Turner and the Controversial Detective Tool

Profiles in history of those who shaped our world.
Kelly Monroe Turner and the Controversial Detective Tool
An invention by Kelly Monroe Turner was a controversial way to eavesdrop on personal conversations. Anelo/Shutterstock
Dustin Bass
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When Miller Reese Hutchison created the first hearing aid called the Akoulathon, he relied on the General Acoustics Company, run by Kelly Monroe Turner, to manufacture them. The Akoulathon was later named the Acousticon, which influenced Turner’s creation of the Metrophone, a highly sensitive microphone.

After years of studying the latest sound technology, Turner (1859–1927) not only designed the Metrophone, but he also built his own telephone systems, which were primarily installed in Britain. Though his telephones were very successful, Turner is more known for his 1907 invention and patent of the dictograph, a listening device that amplified sound from relatively far distances or spaces separated by walls. The dictograph was composed more or less of three pieces: a transmitter with the Metrophone as its centerpiece, an earpiece, and a dry battery cell.

Dustin Bass
Dustin Bass
Author
Dustin Bass is the creator and host of the American Tales podcast, and co-founder of The Sons of History. He writes two weekly series for The Epoch Times: Profiles in History and This Week in History. He is also an author.
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