Everything Everywhere Daily · Friday, October 2, 2026
William Orton, president of the Western Union Telegraph Company, famously turned down Alexander Graham Bell's offer to buy the telephone patent for $100,000 in 1876. Orton believed the telephone was an 'idiotic' and impractical device with 'too many shortcomings.'
“The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty. a fad.”
“The idea of installing telephones in every city is idiotic. Why would any person want to use this ungangly and impractical device when he can send a messenger to the telegraph office and have a clearly written message sent to any large city in the U.S.?”
“This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”