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.
Crown International
A line of Pressure zone microphones (PZM) was introduced by Crown in 1980, culminating in the PZM-30 series in 1990. Other microphones introduced by Crown included the PCC-160 directional boundary microphone in 1986, the tiny GLM series and the patented Differoid CM310 in 1987. The SASS stereo microphone was patented in 1989. Garth Brooks was the first performer to wear the Crown CM311A headset microphone in 1993. The CM700 studio condenser was introduced in 1995.