The Nuremberg trials (1945–1946) are considered to be the official birthdate of simultaneous interpretation,[2] however, simultaneous interpretation was invented as early as in 1926. A patent was received by an IBM employee Alan Gordon Finlay[3] and was used sporadically before the WWII. Finlay played an essential role in the design and development of SI equipment together with Edward Filene, the American businessman and philanthropist.