Such is my very inadequate story of the earliest days of the telephone so far as they made part of my life. To-day when I go into a central office or talk over a long distance wire or read the annual report of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, filled with figures up in the millions and even billions, when I think of the growth of the business, and the marvelous improvements that have been made since the day I left it, thinking there was nothing more to do but routine, I must say that all that early work I have told you about seems to shrink into a very small measure, and, proud as I always shall be, that I had the opportunity of doing some of that earliest work myself, my greatest pride is that I am one of the great army of telephone men, every one of whom has played his part in making the Bell Telephone service what it is to-day. I thank you. Early Chronology of the Telephone 1847, March 3—Birth of Alexander Graham Bell at Edinburgh, Scotland. 1854, January 18—Birth of Thomas A. Watson at Salem, Mass. 1870, August 1—Bell moves to America with his parents, arriving in Canada on this date, and settling at Brantford, Ontario. 1872, October 1—Permanent residence in the United States taken up by Bell at 35 West Newton Street, Boston. 1875, February 27—Written agreement between Bell, Sanders, and Hubbard forming “Bell Patent Association” to promote inventor’s work in telegraph field. June 2—Bell completes the invention of the Telephone, electrically transmitting overtones for the first time and verifying his principle of the electrical transmission of speech at 109 Court Street, Boston. June 3—First telephone instrument constructed by Watson according to Bell’s specifications. September—Bell at Brantford begins writing specifications for a telephone patent. 1876, February 14—Application for telephone patent filed with U. S. Patent Office, Washington, D. C. March 7—U. S. Patent 174,465 issued to Bell, covering fundamental principles of the Electric Speaking Telephone. March 10—First complete sentence transmitted by telephone by Bell to Watson, “Mr. Watson, come here; I want you.” Between two rooms at 5 Exeter Place, Boston. June 25—Bell exhibits his Telephone to the Judges of the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, on which he is awarded the Exhibition’s medal. August 10—Experimental one-way talk—8 miles, Brantford to Paris, Ontario. September 1—Contract with Thomas A. Watson for one-half his time—the beginning of telephone research laboratories. October 9—First experimental two-way telephone conversation between different towns—2 miles, between Boston and Cambridgeport, Mass.