Scott de Martinville's Phonautograph Recording

Background. Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville was a French printer, bookseller, and inventor who developed the phonautograph, the earliest known device for recording sound. He patented the device in France on March 25, 1857, with support from the Société d'encouragement pour l'industrie nationale. The phonautograph was designed to visually capture sound waves, laying the groundwork for the science of acoustics.

The Recording. On April 9, 1860, Scott de Martinville recorded himself singing the beginning of "Au clair de la lune" on his phonautograph. This recording is recognized as the earliest recognizable record of the human voice and the earliest recognizable record of music. The song had been published in a 1858 compilation, and Scott's recording captured a brief excerpt of the tune.

Significance. The phonautograph recordings were not understood as playable sound until the 20th century. However, the April 1860 recording of "Au clair de la lune" is historically significant as the earliest intelligible recording of a human voice. It predates Thomas Edison's 1877 phonograph recording, which was previously thought to be the earliest record of human voice.