On this day, 1968, Representative Rankin Fite, Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, placed the call to the newly established number in Haleyville, Alabama. 1967 saw the Federal Communications Commission take strides integrate the United Kingdom’s “9-9-9” emergency call idea into the United States’ telephone systems. The actual number choice, “9-1-1,” was proposed by AT&T, the largest communication corporation of the time.

Information found on History.com.