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Home phones were invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. Antonio Meucci also had the idea but Antonio could make the home phone, Bell had already put a patent on it.
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By 1900 there were nearly 600,000 phones in Bell's telephone system. By 1905 that number shot up to 2.2 million, then in 1910 there were 5.8 million.
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During World War I, the government nationalized telephone lines for about a year (June 1918 to July 1919) after a joint resolution of Congress, President Wilson put them under the U.S. Post Office. A year later the phones were returned to private ownership.
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By 1934 the government acted again, now allowing it to operated as a "regulated monopoly" under the jurisdiction of the FCC. Also by 1948, the 30 millionth phone was connected to the United States.
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By 1960, there were more than 80 million phone hookups in the U.S. and 160 million in the world.
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By 1980, there were more than 175 million telephone subscriber lines in the U.S. In 1993, the first digital cellular network went online.
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Ever since cell phones came around the landline/ home phone started dying out and less people are using it each year.
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Now it is very hard to find a home phone/ landline in the average home. Most people carry around a smartphone/cellphone.
