Birth Of a Lifeline: The Nation’s 911 Emergency System Turns 50

February 16, 2018

It all started simply enough just before dawn on July 8, 1937, when Mrs. Beard of Hampstead, England called police to report her husband was chasing a burglar around the neighborhood.

That phone call was the first in the world to take advantage of what was then a revolution in telecommunications — namely, a 911 emergency system...