The first telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. He was granted the first U.S. patent for the invention on March 7, 1876, and made the first successful telephone call on March 10, 1876. Bell's invention was the first practical device for transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically and is credited as the invention of the telephone, although others such as Antonio Meucci, Johann Reis, and Elisha Gray also made important contributions to the technology's development.