Thomas Edison does not invent the phonograph

The phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.
Suppose Edison did not invent the phonograph. Who is the inventor?

Charles Cros? I'll quote a post of mine from earlier this year:

He almost did in OTL.

"He is perhaps most famous as the man who almost, but not quite, invented the phonograph. No one before M. Charles Cros had thought of reproducing sound by making an apparatus capable of registering and reproducing sounds which had been engraved with a diaphragm. The inventor gave the name of Paleophone (voix du passé) to his invention. On April 30, 1877 he submitted a sealed envelope containing a letter to the Academy of Sciences in Paris explaining his proposed method. The letter stated in French, "Alors qu'il séjourne à Sablé au début de 1877, Charles Cros rédige une courte note, « Procédé d'enregistrement et de reproduction des phénomènes perçus par l'ouïe », dans laquelle il expose le principe de ce qu'il nomme « Paléophone » (« voix du passé ») : « Un index léger est solidaire du centre de figure d'une membrane vibrante ; il se termine par une pointe [...] qui repose sur une surface noircie à la flamme." The English translation is one close to this: "A lightweight index is fixed to the center of figure of a vibrating membrane, it ends with a tip [...] based on a blackened surface flame. This surface is integral with a disc driven by a double movement of rotation and linear progression. The system is reversible: when the tip makes ironing in the furrow membrane restores the original acoustic signal." The letter was read in public on December 3 following. In his letter, after having shown that his method consisted of detecting an oscillation of a membrane and using the tracing to reproduce the oscillation with respect to its duration and intensity. Cros added that a cylindrical form for the receiving apparatus seemed to him to be the most practical, as it allowed for the graphic inscription of the vibrations by means of a very fine-threaded screw. An article on the Paleophone was published in "la semaine du Clergé" on October 10, 1877, written by l'Abbé Leblanc. Cros proposed metal for both engraving tool attached to the diaphragm and receiving material for durability.

"Before Cros had a chance to follow up on this idea or attempt to construct a working model, Thomas Alva Edison introduced his first working phonograph in the US. Edison used a cylinder covered in tinfoil for his first phonograph, patenting this method for reproducing sound on January 15, 1878. Edison and Cros apparently did not know of each other's work in advance." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Cros

So suppose Cros follows up on his idea, constructs a working model, and patents it--before Edison? Cros was not obsessed with riches or fame, but I rather like the idea of all those profits and recognition [1] going to a man who can write such delightful poetry as the *Triolets fantaisistes*:

Sidonie a plus d'un amant,
C'est une chose bien connue
Qu'elle avoue, elle, fièrement.
Sidonie a plus d'un amant
Parce que, pour elle, être nue
Est son plus charmant vêtement.
C'est une chose bien connue,
Sidonie a plus d'un amant.

http://www.miscellanees.com/c/chcros01.htm ("Sidonie has more than one lover. It's a well-known fact, that she herself proudly acknowledges. Sidonie has more than one lover. For with her, nudity is her most charming garment. It's a well-known fact, Sidonie has more than one lover.")

(Brigette Bardot sings it in the 1962 movie "Vie Privée" co-starring Marcello Mastoianni and directed by Louis Malle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GXQigz7GiQ)

[1] Not that he is totally without recognition in OTL; as the Wikipedia article notes, "L'Académie Charles Cros, the French equivalent of the US Recording Academy, is named in his honor."
 

It's

Banned
The phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.
Suppose Edison did not invent the phonograph. Who is the inventor?

What difference would it make ? He didn't invent the electric light bulb, but that hasn't stop Americans telling the rest of the world that he did!
 
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