Headphones

Headphones were invented in 1910 by a man named Nathaniel Baldwin. The reason he invented them was because he couldn’t hear the talks in a General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Like any inventor, he made a number of varieties before he started to develop a durable, working product. His earliest prototypes, which he sent off to a wide selection of potential buyers, were quite obviously home-made. Some of the people who didn’t buy his product were those who couldn’t look past the low quality of the originals.

His first most steady buyer didn’t need to see quality, they were more interested in what they could do with Nathaniel Baldwin’s invention. He sold his invention to the U.S. Navy with exceptional reviews. However, they wanted more than he could produce right away. He had to build a factory to make more headphones. That factory is still standing—a building known as the Baldwin Radio Factory—which is still utilized and maintained well in Millcreek, Utah.

Baldwin hired people and started producing massive amounts of headphones for the military and anyone else who would buy them. These durable headphones sold for 12$ back then, about 175$ in today’s money. Because of the high price and the high demand, it wasn’t long before Nathaniel Baldwin was a millionaire. Sadly, he was not as talented at managing money as he was at inventing. He eventually lost his fortune.

Users of his product gave high praise, and they gave his headphones a nickname. Because the headphones were called Baldwins, people called them “Baldies”.

The technology has been around for over 100 years, and the amazing invention of headphones has gone through uncountable mutations. Any good evolution needs mutations. The humble headphone set has definitely changed every which way imaginable.

I’m personally in debt to Nathaniel Baldwin for the invention of headphones. Without them, I would have gone insane through math classes, English classes, long flights, and many other times when music was needed. Of course, headphones are good for more than music. There are people these days who don’t know how to answer a call without a headphone in at least one of their ears.

If you’re one of those people, thank Nathaniel Baldwin.