American Bell Telephone Co. and Western Electric Co., Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1889. The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from May 6 to October 31, 1889. The main symbol of the Fair was the Eiffel Tower, which served as the entrance arch to the Fair. The Bell Telephone Company was organized in 1877, by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard who also helped organize a sister company, the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company. The two companies merged in 1879 to form two new entities, the National Bell Telephone Company. The National Bell Telephone Company merged with American Speaking Telephone Company in 1880, to form the American Bell Telephone Company. Western Electric Company (WE, WECo) was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that served as the primary supplier to AT&T from 1881 to 1996. |