This Day in Geek History: September 29

1887 Émile Berliner receives a patent for the gramophone, which is the first music playing device to use a flat disk record. (US No. 372,786) In 1898, he will founds the Berliner Grammophon Gesellschaft record company. 1891 Thomas Edison is issued a patent for a “Process of and Apparatus for Generating Electricity” and for a “Phonogram-Blank Carrier.” (US No. 460,122 and 460,123) 1914 Thomas Alva Edison is issued a patent for a “Phonograph-Record.” (US No. 1,111,999) 1915 A demonstration of a transcontinental radio telephone is given in New York City. Speech is transmitted over 2,500 miles via Arlington, Virginia to Mare Island in San Francisco, California. In a second demonstration the same night, speech is also transmitted t...