Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone.
Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work.[1] His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876.[N 1] In retrospect, Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.[3]
Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils and aeronautics. In 1888, Alexander Graham Bell became one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society.[4]
Early years
Alexander Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 3, 1847.[5] The family home was at 16 South Charlotte Street, and now has a commemorative marker at the doorstep, marking it as Alexander Graham Bell's birthplace. He had two brothers: Melville James Bell (1845–1870) and Edward Charles Bell (1848–1867). Both of his brothers died of tuberculosis.[6] His father was Professor Alexander Melville Bell, and his mother was Eliza Grace (née Symonds).[N 2] Although he was born "Alexander", at age 10, he made a plea to his father to have a middle name like his two brothers.[7][N 3] For his 11th birthday, his father acquiesced and allowed him to adopt the middle name "Graham", chosen out of admiration for Alexander Graham, a Canadian being treated by his father and boarder who had become a family friend.[8] To close relatives and friends he remained "Aleck" which his father continued to call him into later life.[9]
First invention
As a child, young Alexander displayed a natural curiosity about his world, resulting in gathering botanical specimens as well as experimenting even at an early age. His best friend was Ben Herdman, a neighbor whose family operated a flour mill, the scene of many forays. Young Aleck asked what needed to be done at the mill. He was told wheat had to be dehusked through a laborious process and at the age of 12, Bell built a homemade device that combined rotating paddles with sets of nail brushes, creating a simple dehusking machine that was put into operation and used steadily for a number of years.[10] In return, John Herdman gave both boys the run of a small workshop within which to "invent".[10]
From his early years, Bell showed a sensitive nature and a talent for art, poetry and music that was encouraged by his mother. With no formal training, he mastered the piano and became the family's pianist.[11] Despite being normally quiet and introspective, he reveled in mimicry and "voice tricks" akin to ventriloquism that continually entertained family guests during their occasional visits.[11] Bell was also deeply affected by his mother's gradual deafness, (she began to lose her hearing when he was 12) and learned a manual finger language so he could sit at her side and tap out silently the conversations swirling around the family parlour.[12] He also developed a technique of speaking in clear, modulated tones directly into his mother's forehead wherein she would hear him with reasonable clarity.[13] Bell's preoccupation with his mother's deafness led him to study acoustics.
His family was long associated with the teaching of elocution: his grandfather, Alexander Bell, in London, his uncle in Dublin, and his father, in Edinburgh, were all elocutionists. His father published a variety of works on the subject, several of which are still well known, especially his The Standard Elocutionist (1860),[11] which appeared in Edinburgh in 1868. The Standard Elocutionist appeared in 168 British editions and sold over a quarter of a million copies in the United States alone. In this treatise, his father explains his methods of how to instruct deaf-mutes (as they were then known) to
In 1847, Alexander Graham Bell was born into a family with a passion for communication. His grandfather, also named Alexander Bell, had forged for himself a reputation as an impressive, if under employed, actor and orator. Endowed with a commanding speaking voice and considerable physical bearing, Alexander Bell sought to unleash in others the full potential of the spoken word. His attention was especially drawn to those for whom the act of speaking presented daunting challenges. His work with such individuals led him to publish writings that included, The Practical Elocutionist and Stammering and Other Impediments of Speech. By 1838, he was regularly being referred to in the London press as "the celebrated Professor of Elocution."
The elder Mr. Bell infused in his sons David and Melville a similar interest in the mechanics and methods of vocal communication. David's professional and personal pursuits led him to marriage and a career as a teacher of speech in Dublin, while Melville enthusiastically joined his father in his elocutionary endeavors.
Melville's keen interest in speech pathologies was undoubtedly sharpened when he found himself falling in love with a deaf woman he would eventually ask to be his wife. Eliza Grace Symonds, a painter of miniatures, was nearly ten years Melville's senior. Nevertheless, her sweet temper and refined intellect were more than enough to win his lifelong adoration and devotion. Despite being held captive in a world of virtual silence, Eliza Grace Bell developed into a talented pianist whose tenacity and determination to "hear" would especially entrance her second of three sons, Alexander Graham Bell.