Voting Station

Emile Berliner

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Inventor

The Resume

    (May 20, 1851-August 3, 1929)
    Born in Hanover, Germany
    Birth name was Emil Berliner
    Became a US citizen (1881)
    Best know invention was the phonograph record (1887)
    Founded the Berliner Gramophone Company (1895)
    Also invented an improved telephone receiver (1877), a radial aircraft engine (1908) and acoustic tiles (1925)

Why he might be annoying:

    He emigrated to the US to avoid being drafted for the Franco-Prussian War (1870).
    He added an ‘e’ to his first name to make it sound less German. (Apparently, changing his last name so it no longer evoked the Prussian capital never occurred to him.)
    His first record players were hand cranked, making it difficult to play the record at a steady speed.
    As the result of a lawsuit by one of the investors in Berliner Gramophone, he ended up legally barred from selling his invention in the US (1900).
    He suffered a nervous breakdown (1914).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He had to drop out of school at fourteen to help support his ten siblings.
    He built his first invention, an improved power loom, in his teens.
    His disc records were easier to mass produce and boasted better sound than Edison’s cylinders.
    He was the first record manufacturer to sign big-name stars like Enrico Caruso to recording contracts.
    He was praised by Herbert Hoover as ‘an inventive genius.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying