The History of Headphones

The first headphones were created for the military by French engineer Ernest Mercadier in 1891. His miniaturized in-ear headphones were remarkably similar to modern earbuds. Later in the 1890s, a British company called Electrophone created massive earphones that connected below the wearer’s chin and allowed people to connect into live feeds of performances at theaters and opera houses around London, but use of the system was limited and headphones were still primarily used by the military. In 1910,  Nathaniel Baldwin of Utah wrote a letter to the U.S. Navy in memorable purple ink with blue and pink paper; he also included a pair of prototype telephone headsets and offered them for military testing. Naval radio operators found them superior to existing models, so Baldwin sent more and even incorporated their suggestions for increased comfort and wearability. The Navy tried to order more of Baldwin’s headphones, but discovered he was making them in his own kitchen and could only produce 10 at a time. However, the Navy kept ordering in small batches and Baldwin kept accepting feedback, leading to an improved head harness design that the Navy advised Baldwin to patent. Baldwin refused, as he considered the innovation too trivial, but the Navy still wanted more units. As a polygamist, Baldwin could not leave Utah, but another company, the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Co., agreed to help him set up a factory in the state and the Navy used the headphones produced there for many years. Stereophonics were introduced during the postwar period; EMI pioneered stereo recordings in music. In 1958, the first commercial stereo headphones were created by musician and entrepreneur John Koss of the Koss Corporation and were heavily based on military headsets. After Koss’s headphones debuted at a hi-fi trade show in Milwaukee that same year, they quickly became popular and other manufacturers copied the design, too, making it the standard for headphones for several decades. Interestingly, German Luftwaffe pilots had already experienced stereophonic sound through (nonspecialized) headphones during World War II. However, the use of headphones didn’t become truly widespread until the Sony Walkman debuted in 1979 as the first affordable, portable music player. Similar headphones were used for decades, until Apple debuted Apple earbuds alongside the iPod in 2001. Since then, countless earbuds have hit the market, including wireless and noise-cancelling models. Traditional over-ear headphones have also become popular in recent decades, with brands like Bose, Beats, Sony, and more offering premium models with advanced Bluetooth capabilities. And of course, wired over-ear headphones remain the gold standard in recording booths all over the world. Today, headphones are a key part of modern life for most people and come in a variety of colors with a range of features to suit every need and preference.