early 12c., one of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the sacred college (short for cardinalis ecclesiae Romanae or episcopus cardinalis), from Latin cardinalis principal, chief, essential (see cardinal (adj.)). Ecclesiastical use began for the presbyters of the chief (cardinal) churches of Rome.
In 1889, the rotary telephone dial was invented by Almon B. Strowger , a Kansas City undertaker. The first dial exchange was installed at La Porte, Indiana, in 1892. In 1943, Philadelphia was the last major area to give up dual service.
This desk set was the first free-standing dial telephone and was introduced in 1919. It began an era of rotary dial telephone sets which would span the rest of the 20th century. In 1927, Western Electric produced its first model to use a handset, making it easy for the subscriber to use the telephone while keeping a hand free for taking notes or performing other tasks.