Elisha Gray

Elisha Gray (1835-1901), American inventor, born in Barnesville, Ohio, and educated at Oberlin College. He invented and patented many electrical devices. In 1876, a few hours after Alexander Graham Bell had registered his final patent for the telephone, Gray filed a claim for its invention and prevented the issue of the patent pending a legal hearing. Bell's right to the patent was sustained by the United States Supreme Court. In 1888 Gray patented a facsimile telegraph system; he also organized a company that became the Western Electric Company.