Contents
Alexander Graham Bell
Developing and patenting an early practical telephone.
Telephone · Photophone
- Born
- 3 March 1847
- Birthplace
- Edinburgh, UK
- Died
- 2 August 1922
More people
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-born inventor and teacher who worked in Britain, Canada and the United States. Research into speech and sound led to the telephone, followed by experiments in aviation and hydrofoils.
Early life
Speech in the family
His father developed methods for teaching speech, and his mother was deaf.
Teaching and migration
Worked as a teacher before moving with his family to Canada in 1870.
Career
- 1870s
Teaching in Boston
Taught deaf students while experimenting with sound transmission.
- 1876
Telephone patent
Received a key US telephone patent and demonstrated intelligible speech transmission.
- 1880s
Volta Laboratory
Supported research into sound recording and related technologies.
- 1900s
Aviation and boats
Worked with collaborators on aircraft and fast hydrofoil craft.
Contributions
Telephone
Converted speech into electrical variations that could be transmitted.
Photophone
With Charles Sumner Tainter, transmitted sound using light.
HD-4
A hydrofoil developed with Casey Baldwin that set a water-speed record.
Beyond invention
Mabel Bell
Married Mabel Hubbard in 1877; she supported and helped organise his work.
Deaf education
His advocacy of oral instruction and opposition to sign language remain contentious aspects of his legacy.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. CC0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
