Tainter, Charles Sumner
(1854–1940)
Tainter, Charles Sumner (25 Aug 1854–20 Apr 1940) British instrument maker and inventor. In 1879 he began working with Alexander Graham Bell in a research facility in Washington, D.C., and in 1881 he was invited by Bell to join him and Chichester Bell in the formation of the Volta Laboratory Association. The purpose of Volta was to carry out acoustical and electrical research. Tainter was probably responsible for the emphasis on developing a talking machine that would improve on Edison’s…