Elisha Gray and 'The Musical Telegraph' (1876)

Elisha Gray (born in Barnesville, Ohio, on Aug. 2, 1835, died Newtonville, Mass., on Jan. 21, 1901) would have been known to us as the inventor of the telephone if Alexander Graham bell hadn’t got to the patent office one hour before him. Instead, he goes down in history as the accidental creator of one of the first electronic musical instruments – a chance by-product of his telephone technology. —Elisha Gray and ‘The Musical Telegraph’ (1876) (Obsolete.com)

Thanks for the suggestion, Rosemary.