Thaddeus Cahill

Thaddeus Cahill (June 8, 1867, Iowa - April 12, 1934) was an American inventor, most known for being the inventor of an electric typewriter and an electronic organ. Thaddeus Cahill had an interest in music and in 1900 he demonstrated the first prototype of the Telharmonium in Washington, D.C. Developed by Cahill between 1892 and 1914, this electric organ produced the first electrically synthesized music. The Telharmonium’s size did not make it commercially viable, however; it weighed several tons, a result of the limited amplifier technology at the time. Cahill’s reliance on the telephone system as an amplifier for his invention got him into trouble with the authorities in New York as well—a performance by the Telharmonium is reputed to have interrupted an important telephone conversation between financier J.P. Morgan and one of his associates. For this and other reasons, various companies formed by Cahill throughout the 1900s and 1910s to profit from the Telharmonium failed to endure (such as 1902 New England Electric Music Company). Cahill later operated another company called Cahill Brothers with his brothers George and Arthur. This enterprise manufactured high-powered floodlights for use in football stadiums during evening games, an invention pioneered by his brother George.