Elisha Gray for more than a century one of Highland Park’s best-known citizens, has forever been intertwined in the tangled and intriguing tale of the telephone’s beginning. His post-college career, which spanned almost forty years, followed many paths, including that of inventor, entrepreneur, writer and engineer. We take a brief look at his pivotal role in the creation of the telephone.

Edward Evenson received his engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin and has been involved in the design of diagnostic instrumentation for the automotive industry. He has also written five books pertaining to automotive electronics. However, as the holder of half a dozen patents, he acquired a close knowledge of the patent process which inspired him to write his latest book: The Telephone Patent Conspiracy of 1876: The Elisha Gray-Alexander Bell Controversy.

Recorded Monday, October 20, 2008 at Highland Park Public Library Auditorium.