1930 - - Fourth reduction in long distance rates announced by AT&T Company; estimated annual savings to users is about $5 million. The Bell System purchases the Teletype Corporation. First interstate connection for police teletypewriter systems was opened between New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

1931 - - AT&T Company introduces teletypewriter exchange service, TWX. Although teletypewriters have been used on private lines since 1915, the new service establishes central switching exchanges through which any subscriber could communicate by teletypewriter with any of the other subscribers to the service.

1932 - - "Photo-finish" timing apparatus for sports, as developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories, is introduced at Columbia-Syracuse track meet at Baker Field, New York City.

1934 - - The Communications Act becomes effective on July 1st. Approved by President Roosevelt, this Act brought interstate telephone business under regulation by the Federal Communications Commission instead of the Interstate Commerce Commission. On December 13th, Thomas A. Watson, died at Pass-a-grille, Florida.

1935 - - The FBI installs teletypewriter service between its headquarters in Washington and 36 field offices. On April 25, the first round-the-world telephone call is made. Walter S. Gifford, president AT&T Company, talked with T.G. Miller, vice president in charge of Long Lines Dept., in another room in the same building (32 Sixth Avenue) over a 23,000 mile circuit of wire and radio channels. The instrument used was presented to the Smithsonian Institute.

1936 - - First coaxial cable installed between New York and Philadelphia made available for multi-channel telephone tests. The coaxial cable was demonstrated on November 30th when Frank B. Jewett, president of Bell Telephone Laboratories talked with officials of the FCC in Washington.

1937 - - The combined handset telephone was introduced commercially. On November 11th, Dr. Clinton J. Davisson, of Bell Telephone Laboratories, becomes the first Bell System employee to win the Nobel prize. The award, shared with Prof. George P. Thomson of London, came to Dr. Davisson for his experimental discovery of the wave nature of the electron.

1938 - - The first crossbar central office installation goes into service at Troy Avenue, Brooklyn. On October 30th, the Invasion from Mars program based on Well's "War of the Worlds" caused telephone traffic peaks in nearly all cities and on long distance lines as listeners missed the repeated statement that this was a purely imaginative rendering from a novel.

1939 - - New York weather forecast service introduced - WEather 6-1212. First such service in the U.S. War is declared in Europe.

< Back to the History Timeline >