Alexander Graham Bell makes a phone call from Boston to Salem.

Bell, at the Eastern Railroad Station, speaks to his assistant, Thomas Watson, in Salem. The first “long-distance” telephone conversation in history, it takes place over a distance of about 17 miles. The two hold another long-distance conversation, when Bell, calling from the same location, speaks with Watson, in North Conway, New Hampshire, on December 3, 1876. Bell makes another, similar call in 1877.*