Alexander Graham Bell

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Alexander Graham Bell

• A Great Inventor

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Introduction

• Many forces helped shaped the genius of Alexander
  Graham Bell. As the son and grandson of speech
  experts, he had unique knowledge of the
  possibilities of sound. As the son of a deaf
  mother, he had a true appreciation of the effort
  required to live in a hearing world. These two
  factors helped set Bell on the road to the
  telephone.

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The Early Years

• On March 3, 1847 Alexander Bell was born in
  Edinburgh, Scotland.
• May 21, 1868 Bell begins teaching speech to the
  deaf at Susanna Hulls school for deaf children
  in London.

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The 1870s

• 1870 Bell and his family emigrate to Canada and
  settle in Brantford, Ontario.
• 1872 Bell opens his School Vocal Physiology and
  begins experimenting with the multiple telegraph.

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Bells Family Life

• On July 11, 1877 Bell and Mabel Hubbard are
  married.
• On May 8, 1878 daughter Elsie May Bell is born.
• On February 15, 1880 daughter Marion (Daisy) Bell
  is born.
• In 1881 Bells son Edward is born, but dies in
  infancy. In 1883 Bells son Robert also dies in
  infancy.

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Bells Inventions

• After inventing the telephone, Bell continued his
  experiments in communication, which culminated in
  the invention of the photophone-transmission of
  sound on a beam of light-a precursor of todays
  optical fiber systems. He also worked in medical
  research and invented techniques for teaching
  speech to the deaf. In 1888 Bell founded the
  National Geographic Society.

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The Early Telephone

• 1874 Bell first conceives the idea for the
  telephone. Bell meets Thomas Watson, a young
  electrician who would become his assistant.

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Bells Telephone

• On March 6, 1876 United States Patent No. 174,465
  is officially issued for Bells telephone.
• On March 10, intelligible speech is heard for the
  first time when Bell calls to Watson, Mr.
  Watson--Come here--I want to see you.

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Bells Silver Dart

• Glenn Curtiss, Thomas Selfridge, Casey Baldwin,
  J.A.D. McCurdy, and Bell form the Aerial
  Experiment Association (AEA).
• The AEAS Silver Dart makes the first flight of a
  heavier-than-air machine in Canada.

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The Later Years

• Bell spent the last decade of his life improving
  hydrofoil designs, and in 1919 he and Casey
  Baldwin built a hydrofoil that set a world
  water-speed record that was not broken until 1963.

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Beinn Bhreagh

• In the summer of 1886 Bell begins buying land in
  Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
• On August 2, 1922 Bell dies and is buried here.On
  January 3, 1923 Mabel dies and is buried beside
  him.

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Alexander Graham Bell Museum

• Provides a center for the commemoration and
  interpretation of Bell and his associates.
• Functions as a center for the study of Bells
  scientific and humanitarian work.
• A variety of services and resources are available
  to the public.

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For More Information

• Alexander Graham Bell
• National Historic Site
• P.O. Box 159
• Baddeck, Nova Scotia
• B0E 1B0

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References

• http//memory.loc.gov/ammem/bellhtml/bellhome.html
  
• http//www.fitzgeraldstudio.com/html/bell/theman.h
  tml
• http//www.invent.org/book/book-text/7.html
• http//w3.uccb.ns.ca/parks/agb_e.html