[Étienne Charles Désiré]. French inventor, received his education at the Royal College of Douai. He entered the telegraph service in 1852, and enthusiastically devoted himself to the study of that agent of communication, then in its infancy. M. Bourseul is entitled to credit as one of the inventors of the telephone, his zealous studies in the search for new applications of electrical energy leading him to certain conclusions concerning the transmission of the vibrations of the voice, which were set forth in an article published in Paris in 1854. A commutator which bears his name is in general use, and he devoted several years of study to the development of a microphone. He retired from his high governmental position in the administration of telegraphy in 1886. In 1890 he was made an officer of the Legion of Honor.
