Doorbell
Videos
A doorbell is a signaling device typically placed near a door to a building's entrance. When a visitor presses a button, the bell rings inside the building, alerting the occupant to the presence of th
Doorbell at the entrance of Chetham's Library, Manchester, England
Doorbell mechanism from 1884 in Andrássy Avenue, Budapest
Antique mechanically operated shop doorbell on a torsion spring
Old door bell pull knobs in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. It is unclear whether bells were rung by wire and pulleys, or by electrical connection.
Joseph Henry
Videos
Joseph Henry was an American physicist and inventor who served as the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a pr
Doorbell
…of compressed air. A precursor to the electric doorbell, specifically a bell that could be rung at a distance via an electric wire, was invented by Joseph Henry around 1831. By the early 1900s, electric doorbells had become commonplace. In most wired systems, a button on the outside next to the door, located…
Henry, c. 1865–1878
Historical marker in Academy Park in Albany commemorating Henry's work with electricity
A portrait of Henry dated 1879
Henry's letter at the beginning of the 1876 annual report of Smithsonian Institution, showing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the institution that year