Audio historians have found a sound recording that predates Edison's phonograph by nearly 20 years. The "phonautograph" was patented in 1857 by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville; the device recorded ...

An "ethereal" 10 second clip of a woman singing a French folk song has been played for the first time in 150 years. The recording of "Au Clair de la Lune", recorded in 1860, is thought to be the ...

Do you have a question about history? Send us your question at history@time .com and you might find your answer in a future edition of Now You Know. The question of which sound was the first ever to ...

At first listen, the grainy high-pitched warble doesn't sound like much, but scientists say the French recording from 1860 is the oldest-known recorded human voice. The 10-second clip of a woman ...

1860: Seventeen years before Thomas Edison records what was previously thought to have been the first sound ever captured in a fixed medium, Parisian typesetter and inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de ...

SAN FRANCISCO – At first listen, the grainy high-pitched warble coming from the speakers may not sound like much. But scientists say a recently discovered French recording from 1860 is the oldest ...