Some say Bell invented the telephone; others say he swiped it

(Washington Post) - On May 22, 1886, The Washington Post published a shocking front-page scoop: Zenas F. Wilber, a former Washington patent examiner, swore in an affidavit that he'd been bribed by an attorney for Alexander Graham Bell to award Bell the patent for the telephone over a rival inventor, Elisha Gray, who'd filed a patent document on the same day as Bell in 1876.
Furthermore, Wilber asserted, he'd illegally shown Gray's application to Bell, who responded by slipping him a $100 bill. Immediately, Bell swore out an affidavit of his own, denying that he'd bribed Wilber. Link

Photo: Library of Congress