Carbon microphone
The first microphone that enabled proper voice telephony was the (loose-contact) carbon microphone (then called transmitter). This was independently developed around 1878 by David Edward Hughes in England and Emile Berliner and Thomas Edison in the US. Although Edison was awarded the first patent in mid-1877, Hughes had demonstrated his working device in front of many witnesses some years earlier, and most historians credit him with its invention.
RCA Type 77-DX microphone
The RCA Type 77-DX microphone is a poly-directional ribbon microphone, or pressure-gradient microphone, introduced by the RCA Corporation in 1954. Both it and its predecessor, the Type 77-D, are listed in RCA's 1955 catalog, and the 77-DX appears as late as 1967. Its design has inspired a stereotypical microphone icon. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, phonograph record album cover photos show artists singing into the side of a 77-DX.