Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: The Bell Telephone Company was created in 1877 , and by 1886 , over 150,000 people in the U.S. owned telephones . Bell company engineers made numerous other improvements to the telephone , which emerged as one of the most successful products ever .
Simplified: In 1876 , Bell was the first inventor to patent the telephone , and he helped start the Bell Telephone Company with others in July 1877 .