Berliner, Emile

Berliner, Emile (1851–1929) inventor; born in Hanover, Germany. An apprentice printer before he emigrated to the United States in 1870, he became chief inspector of the Bell Telephone Company, and from 1876 on, patented a series of improvements to Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. In 1888 Berliner introduced the first flat disc recording, a marked improvement over Thomas Edison's recording cylinders. He developed the first acoustic tiles in 1915.