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when alexander graham bell made the first telephone call, who did he call?

Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call was to his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, who was in a nearby room. He famously said the words:

“Mr. Watson, come here — I want to see you.”

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

  • Date of the first call: 10 March 1876, in Bell’s lab at 5 Exeter Place, Boston.
  • Who he called: His assistant Thomas Augustus Watson , working in the next room.
  • Exact first message: “Mr. Watson, come here — I want to see you.”

That short line is often treated as the “birth” moment of practical telephony, showing that spoken words could travel as electrical signals over a wire.

Mini Story: Why That Line?

Bell wasn’t making small talk; he was actually dealing with a lab mishap.
The story goes that he spilled some acid on his clothes or equipment and instinctively shouted into the device for Watson to come help, and Watson heard the words clearly through the receiver in the other room.

In that ordinary, slightly urgent moment, they unintentionally proved that the invention worked in the most human way possible: one person calling out for another and being heard.

Why This Call Still Matters Today

  • It turned the idea of “talking with electricity” into a working reality.
  • It opened the path from a crude lab setup in 1876 to global networks, smartphones, and internet calling in the 21st century.
  • Bell later repeated the same line in 1915 on one of the first transcontinental calls, and Watson jokingly replied, “It would take me a week now,” showing how far telephony had already come.

FAQ Style Quick Answers

  1. When Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call, who did he call?
    He called his assistant, Thomas A. Watson.
  1. What did he say in that first call?
    “Mr. Watson, come here — I want to see you.”
  1. Was it a long-distance call?
    No, Watson was just in the next room; long-distance and transcontinental calls came later.

TL;DR:
When Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call on 10 March 1876, he called his assistant Thomas A. Watson in the next room and said, “Mr. Watson, come here — I want to see you.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.