Daniel Drawbaugh (July 14, 1827 – November 2, 1911) was a purported

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

of the

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

for which he sought a patent in 1880. His claims were contested by the

Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company, a common law joint stock company, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 9, 1877, by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who also helped organize a sister company – the New Englan ...

, which won a court decision in 1888. Described as a bearded rustic tinkerer from

Yellow Breeches Creek Yellow Breeches Creek, also known as Callapatscink Creek, Callapatschink Creek (Lenape for "where it returns") or Shawnee Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed Augu ...

, Pennsylvania, he claimed to have invented a telephone using a

teacup A teacup is a cup for drinking tea. It may be with a handle (grip), handle, generally a small one that may be grasped with the thumb and one or two fingers. It is typically made of a ceramic material. It is usually part of a set, composed of a ...

as a transmitter as early as 1867, but had been too poor to patent it then. In a lower court his case was well-financed by the People’s Telephone Co. and brilliantly argued in court by Lysander Hill. But he “blew it” by drawling in court ''"I don’t remember how I came to it. I had been experimenting in that direction. I don’t remember of getting at it by accident either. I don’t remember of anyone talking to me of it."'' The lower court findings were confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1888, as noted in

The Telephone Cases ''The Telephone Cases'', 126 U.S. 1 (1888), were a series of US court cases in the 1870s and the 1880s related to the invention of the telephone, which culminated in the 1888 decision of the US Supreme Court upholding the priority of the patents ...

. Drawbaugh was an opponent of Marconi as well. Right after Marconi's success several entrepreneurs tried to take over wireless telegraph, using Drawbaugh and his inventions. Drawbaugh was born on July 14, 1827, in

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

's Eberley's Mills which is just outside

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. In 1854 he married Elcetta Thompson. In 1856 Daniel started mutual enterprise with his landlord Christian Eberly and he was obliged to share profits. According to his obituary printed in the New York Times on November 4, 1911, he invented many appliances, for example: stave jointing machine,

pneumatic tool A pneumatic tool, air tool, air-powered tool or pneumatic-powered tool is a type of power tool, driven by compressed air supplied by an air compressor. Pneumatic tools can also be driven by compressed carbon dioxide () stored in small cylinders al ...

hydraulic ram A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one "hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and lower flow rate. The device uses the water hammer ef ...

s, folding

lunch box A lunch box (alt. spelling lunchbox) refers to a hand-held container used to transport food, usually to work or to school. It is commonly made of metal or plastic, is reasonably airtight and often has a handle for carrying. In the United ...

es, coin separators and even is said to have invented a wireless phone that could be used 4 miles away. He died November 2, 1911 in his laboratory while working on a wireless

burglar alarm A security alarm is a system designed to detect intrusion, such as unauthorized entry, into a building or other areas such as a home or school. Security alarms used in residential, commercial, industrial, and military properties protect against ...

. Many of his surviving York County relatives attended a ceremony to dedicate a historical marker located at the site of the inventor's workshop and home in 1965."Pennsylvanian Daniel Drawbaugh: 'The Edison of the Cumberland Valley'"
, by Jim McClure

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drawbaugh, Daniel 1827 births 1911 deaths People from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 19th-century American inventors Engineers from Pennsylvania