who invented the phonograph

The phonograph was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in 1877. Edison created the phonograph in his New Jersey laboratory, and it was the earliest device to both record and play back sound. He famously tested it by speaking the nursery rhyme "Mary had a little lamb" into the machine, which then played his words back to him. Edison filed for a patent on the phonograph in December 1877, and it was granted on February 19, 1878. This invention fundamentally changed how people experienced music and sound, marking the beginning of on-demand listening.