1802-1875

English physicist who invented the microphone, popularized (though did not invent) the Wheatstone bridge for measuring electrical resistance, and conducted important research in acoustics. Wheatstone also invented the concertina (a small accordion-like instrument played with bellows and keys), a form of telegraph, and was the first to explain the principle of the stereoscope. He was a professor of experimental philosophy in London and was knighted in 1868 for his contributions to physics.