The story of the electric guitar is as much folklore and mythology as it is history. While the public embrace of the electric guitar, both musically and socially, is very much a phenomenon of the twentieth century, its roots go back to mid-eighteenth century Europe, and its journey to becoming a modern cultural icon includes stops in the Czech Republic, France, Hawaii, Germany, and the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. Even its history during the twentieth century is typically not well understood, with significant confusion over the people, events, and timeline of the electric guitar’s invention. This chapter examines the hidden history of the electric guitar, and puts the electric guitar’s development within the larger context of the electrification of musical instruments.