Earliest Human Voice Recording Debuts Online

This weekend, Stanford University hosted the first public performance of the earliest known human voice recording--one that predates Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph by 17 years. The organization that made playback of the sound possible, First Sounds, has also posted the recording online for the public.

The recording, or "phonautogram," was made April 9, 1860 by French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville on a device he dubbed the "phonautograph," which recorded sound by scratching a piece of paper that had been blackened by the smoke of an oil lamp. It features a girl--possibly the inventor's daughter--singing about 10 seconds of the French folk song "Au clair de la lune, Pierrot répondit."

The trouble was that while Scott was able to record sounds, he never came up with a device for playing them back. Hence First Sounds launched an initiative to do just that. First Sounds is a collaborative of individuals and organizations that work to preserve recorded sound. Founders include Patrick Feaster of Indiana University, David Giovannoni, Richard Martin, and Meagan Hennessey.

The technology to play back the recording was developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and involved scanning the grooves of the recordings onto a computer, then playing back the audio using a "virtual stylus."

Other recordings from the phonautograph also exist, including one supposedly of a human voice from 1857, but the organization has not yet been able to decode it in a format that makes the recording audibly recognizable.

More information about the "Au clair" recording and additional phonautograph recording samples can be found at First Sounds' site in MP3 format here.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • The AI Show

    Register for Free to Attend the World's Greatest Show for All Things AI in EDU

    The AI Show @ ASU+GSV, held April 5–7, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center, is a free event designed to help educators, students, and parents navigate AI's role in education. Featuring hands-on workshops, AI-powered networking, live demos from 125+ EdTech exhibitors, and keynote speakers like Colin Kaepernick and Stevie Van Zandt, the event offers practical insights into AI-driven teaching, learning, and career opportunities. Attendees will gain actionable strategies to integrate AI into classrooms while exploring innovations that promote equity, accessibility, and student success.

  • cloud, database stack, computer screen, binary code, and flowcharts interconnected by lines and arrows

    Salesforce to Acquire Data Management Firm Informatica

    Salesforce has announced plans to acquire data management company Informatica for $8 billion. The deal is aimed at strengthening Salesforce's AI foundation and expanding its enterprise data capabilities.

  • stylized AI code and a neural network symbol, paired with glitching code and a red warning triangle

    New Anthropic AI Models Demonstrate Coding Prowess, Behavior Risks

    Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, its most advanced artificial intelligence models to date, boasting a significant leap in autonomous coding capabilities while simultaneously revealing troubling tendencies toward self-preservation that include attempted blackmail.

  • NVIDIA DGX line

    NVIDIA Intros Personal AI Supercomputers

    NVIDIA has introduced a new lineup of AI-powered computing solutions designed to accelerate enterprise workloads.