'''Joseph Zimmermann''' (1912 – March 31, 2004) was an engineer, born in Kenosha, Wisconsin who invented the first answering machine, called the "Electronic Secretary". Zimmermann graduated from Marquette University in 1935 with a degree in electrical engineering.<ref name="nyt">Douglas Martin. "[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/11/us/joseph-j-zimmermann-jr-92-an-inventor-is-dead.html Joseph J. Zimmermann Jr., 92, an Inventor, Is Dead]", ''The New York Times'', April 11, 2004.</ref> He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II and was among the first soldiers to land on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, as part of the D-Day invasion.<ref name="nyt"/> In addition to the patent on the telephone answering machine (1948), Zimmermann held dozens of other patents, including a security device that automatically dials a phone number and conveys information in case of an emergency; a magnetic recorder used to monitor heart patients; a system for accessing prerecorded lectures to earn college credit; an airport system to send out landing information to planes 24 hours a day.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} Zimmermann and his wife, Helen, had a son, Joseph.<ref name="nyt"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Find a Grave|8629748}} *[http://www.etcia.com/history.html ETC history]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmermann, Joseph}} Category:1912 births Category:2004 deaths Category:People from Kenosha, Wisconsin Category:Engineers from Wisconsin Category:20th-century American engineers Category:20th-century American inventors Category:United States Army personnel of World War II
{{US-inventor-stub}}