The gramophone was developed in 1887 in the United States by the inventor Emil Berliner (1851–1929), who was originally from Germany. Raised in the spirit of emancipation, Berliner saw technological progress as a humanitarian service and also as a way toward integration into American society. Berliner was involved in the formation of record companies in the United States, England, and Germany as well; these evolved into a worldwide record industry, which also helped to publicize Jewish musicians since the 1920s.

Emil Berliner was born as one of thirteen children in a Jewi…