On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful telephone call, speaking the words “Mr. Watson — Come Here — I want to see you,” to his assistant in another room.

Later that year, Bell would demonstrate a telephone that transmitted across a four-mile distance.

He offered to sell the patent to the Western Union telegraph company for $100,000. The company rejected it, saying the telephone had little application beyond that of a toy. The president of Western Union later said he would buy the patent for $25 million, but Bell no longer wanted to sell.