Alexander_Graham

{{Infobox Person
| name = Alexander Graham Bell
| image = Alexander Graham Bell.jpg
| image_size = 225px
| caption = Portrait of Alexander Graham Bell c. 1910
| birth_date = [[3 March]] [[1847]]
| birth_place = [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]].
| death_date = {{death date and age|1922|8|2|1847|3|3|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Beinn Bhreagh]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]].
| death_cause = [[Pernicious anemia]]
| education = [[University of Edinburgh]]<br>[[University of Toronto]]
| occupation = Inventor, Scientist
| known_for = Inventor of the telephone
| spouse = [[Mabel Hubbard]] <br>(married 1877-1922)
| parents = [[Alexander Melville Bell]]<br>Eliza Grace Symonds Bell
| children = (4) Two sons who died in infancy and two daughters
| relatives = [[Gardiner Greene Hubbard]] (father-in-law)<br>[[Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor]] (son-in-law)<br>[[Melville Bell Grosvenor]] (grandson)
}}
'''Alexander Graham Bell''' ([[3 March]] [[1847]] - [[2 August]] [[1922]]) was an eminent [[scientist]], [[Innovation|inventor]] and [[innovator]]. Most often associated with the invention of the [[telephone]], Bell was also called "the father of the [[Deafness|deaf]]".<ref>Gray 2006, p. 229.</ref> His 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.<ref>Bruce 1990, p. 419.</ref> His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices that eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876.<ref> Black 1997, p. 18. Quote: "He thought he could harness the new electronic technology by creating a machine with a transmitter and receiver that would send sounds telegraphically to help people hear."</ref>

Many other inventions marked Bell's later life including [[groundbreaking]] work in [[hydrofoil]]s and [[aeronautics]]. In 1888, Alexander Graham Bell was one of the founding members of the [[National Geographic Society]].<ref>http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/ngm.html</ref> In reflection, Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.<ref>MacLeod 1999, p. 19.</ref> Upon Bell's death, all telephones throughout the United States "stilled their ringing for a silent minute in tribute to the man whose yearning to communicate made them possible."<ref> Dunn 1990, p. 41.</ref>

==Early years==
Alexander Bell was born in [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]] on [[3 March]] [[1847]].<ref>Petrie 1975, p. 4.</ref> Throughout his early life, Bell was a British subject. The family home was at 16 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh and has a commemorative marker at the doorstep, marking this 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]], Edward in 1867 and Melville in 1870.<ref> [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bellhtml/belltime.html Time Line of Alexander Graham Bell]</ref> His father was Professor [[Alexander Melville Bell]], and his mother was Eliza Grace (nee Symonds).<ref>"Alexander M. Bell Dead. Father of Prof. A.G. Bell Developed Sign Language for Mutes." ''[[New York Times]]'' Tuesday, [[8 August]] [[1905]].</ref> Although he was born "Alexander" at age ten, he made a plea to his father to have a middle name like his two brothers.<ref>[http://www.fi.edu/case_files/bell/agb.html Call me Alexander Graham Bell] Note: Bell typically signed his name in full on his correspondence.</ref> 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.<ref> Groundwater 2005, p. 23.</ref> To close relatives and friends he remained "Aleck" which his father continued to call him into later life.<ref> Bruce 1990, p. 17-19.</ref>

===First invention===
As a child, young Aleck Bell displayed a natural curiosity about his world, resulting in gathering [[botany|botanical]] specimens as well as [[experiment]]ing even at an early age. His best friend was Ben Herdman, a neighbour whose family operated a flour [[Gristmill|mill]], the scene of many forays. When their typical child's play had caused a racket one day, John Herdman admonished the two boys, "Why don't you do something useful?" 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.<ref name= "Bruce p. 16."> Bruce 1990, p. 16.</ref> In return, John Herdman gave both boys the run of a small workshop to "invent."<ref name= "Bruce p. 16."> Bruce 1990, p. 16.</ref>

===Early work with speech===
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.<ref name= "Gray p. 8"> Gray 2006, p. 8.</ref> Despite being normally quiet and introspective, he revelled in mimicry and "voice tricks" akin to ventriloquism that constantly entertained family guests.<ref name= "Gray p. 8"> Gray 2006, p. 8.</ref> 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.<ref name= "Gray p. 9"> Gray 2006, p. 9.</ref> 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.<ref name= "Mackay p.25"> Mackay 1997, p.25. </ref> Bell's preoccupation with his mother's deafness led him to study [[acoustics]].

His family was 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)<ref name= "Gray p. 8"> Gray 2006, p. 8.</ref><ref>Mackay 1997, p. 24.</ref> and [[treatise]] on ''[[Visible Speech]]'', 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, he explains his methods of how to instruct [[deaf-mute]]s (as they were then known) to articulate words and read other people's lip movements to decipher meaning. Aleck's father taught him and his brothers not only to write Visible Speech but also to identify any symbol and its accompanying sound.<ref name= "Petrie p. 7"> Petrie 1975, p. 7.</ref> Aleck became so proficient that he became part of his father's public demonstrations and astounded audiences with his abilities in deciphering [[Latin]], [[Gaelic]] and even [[Sanskrit]] symbols.<ref name= "Petrie p. 7"> Petrie 1975, p. 7.</ref>

===Education===
Although as a young child, like his brothers, Bell received his early schooling at home from his father, at an early age, he was enrolled at the [[Royal High School (Edinburgh)|Royal High School]], Edinburgh, Scotland, which he left at age 15, completing the first four forms only.<ref>Mackay 1997, p. 31.</ref> His school record was undistinguished, marked by absenteeism and lacklustre grades. His main interest remained in the sciences, especially biology with other school subjects treated with indifference, to the dismay of his demanding father.<ref> Gray 2006, p. 11.</ref> Upon leaving school, Bell went to London to live with his grandfather, Alexander Bell. During the year he spent with his grandfather, a love of learning was born, with long hours spent in serious discussion and study. The elder Bell took great efforts to have his young pupil learn to speak clearly and with conviction, the attributes that his pupil would need to become a teacher himself.<ref> Town 1988, p. 7.</ref> At age 16, Bell secured a position as a "pupil-teacher" of [[elocution]] and music, in Weston House Academy, at [[Elgin, Moray|Elgin]], [[Moray]], Scotland. Although he was enrolled as a student in Latin and Greek, he instructed in return for board and £10 per session.<ref> Bruce 1990, p. 37. </ref> The following year he attended the [[University of Edinburgh]]; joining his older brother Melville who had enrolled there the previous year, and where Aleck intended to write exams but later graduated from the [[University of Toronto]].

===First experiments with sound===
Bell's father encouraged Aleck's interest in speech and in 1863, took his sons to see a unique [[automaton]], developed by Sir [[Charles Wheatstone]] based on the earlier work of [[Wolfgang von Kempelen|Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen]].<ref name= "Groundwater p. 25"> Groundwater 2005, p. 25.</ref> The rudimentary "mechanical man" simulated a human voice. Aleck was fascinated by the machine and after he obtained a copy of von Kempelen's book published in Germany and had laboriously translated it, Aleck and his older brother Melville built their own automaton head. Their father, highly interested in their project, offered to pay for any supplies and spurred the boys on with the enticement of a "big prize" if they were successful.<ref name= "Groundwater p. 25"> Groundwater 2005, p. 25.</ref> While his brother constructed the [[throat]] and [[larynx]], Aleck tackled the more difficult task of recreating a realistic [[skull]]. His efforts resulted in a remarkably lifelike head that could "[[speak]]," albeit only a few words.<ref name= "Groundwater p. 25"> Groundwater 2005, p. 25.</ref> The boys would carefully adjust the "[[lip]]s" and when a [[bellows]] forced air through the [[Vertebrate trachea|windpipe]], a very recognizable "Mama" ensued, to the delight of neighbors who came to see the Bell invention.<ref name= "Petrie p. 7-9"> Petrie 1975, p. 7-9.</ref>

Intrigued by the results of the automaton, Bell continued to experiment with a live subject, the family's Skye terrier, "Trouve".<ref> Petrie 1975, p. 9. </ref> After he taught it to growl continuously, Aleck would reach into its mouth and manipulate the dog's lips and [[Vocal folds|vocal cords]] to produce a crude-sounding "Ow ah oo ga ma ma." With little convincing, visitors believed his dog could articulate "How are you grandma?" More indicative of his playful nature, his experiments convinced onlookers that they saw a "talking dog."<ref name= "Groundwater p. 30." "> Groundwater 2005, p. 30.</ref> However, these initial forays into experimentation with sound led Bell to undertake his first serious work on the transmission of [[sound]], using [[tuning fork]]s to explore [[resonance]]. At the age of 19, he wrote a report on his work and sent it to Alexander Ellis, a colleague of his father.<ref name= "Groundwater p. 30."> Groundwater 2005, p. 30.</ref> Ellis immediately wrote back indicating that the experiments were similar to existing work in [[Germany]]. Dismayed to find that [[groundbreaking]] work had already taken place by [[Hermann von Helmholtz]] who had conveyed vowel sounds by means of a similar tuning fork "[[Machine|contraption]]", he pored over the German scientist's book, ''Sensations of Tone''. From his translation of the original German edition, Aleck then made a deduction that would be the underpinning of all his future work on transmitting sound, "Without knowing much about the subject, it seemed to me that if [[vowel]] sounds could be produced by [[electricity|electrical]] means so could [[consonant]]s, so could [[speech|articulate speech]]."<ref> Groundwater 2005, p. 31.</ref>

===Family tragedy===
In 1865, when the Bell family moved to [[London]],<ref> Micklos 2006, p. 8.</ref> Bell returned to Weston House as an assistant master and in his spare hours, continued experiments on sound using a minimum of laboratory equipment. Bell concentrated on experimenting with electricity to convey sound and later installed a [[telegraph]] wire from his room in Somerset College to that of a friend.<ref> Bruce 1990, p. 45.</ref> Throughout the fall and winter, his health faltered mainly through exhaustion. His younger brother, Edward "Ted" was similarly bed-ridden, suffering from [[tuberculosis]]. While Bell recovered (now referring to himself in correspondence as "A.G. Bell") and served the next year as an instructor at [[Somerset College]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], [[Somerset]], [[England]], his brother's condition deteriorated. Edward would never recover. Upon his brother's passing, Bell returned home in 1867. His older brother, "Melly" had married and moved out. With aspirations to obtain a degree at the [[University of London]], Bell considered his next years as preparation for the degree examinations, devoting his spare time at his family's residence to studying.

Helping his father in Visible Speech demonstrations and lectures brought Bell to Susanna E. Hull's private school for the deaf in [[South Kensington]], [[London]]. His first two pupils were "deaf mute" girls who made remarkable progress under his tutelage. While his older brother seemed to achieve success on many fronts including setting up his own school for elocution, applying for a patent on an invention, and beginning a family, Bell continued as a teacher. In May 1870, Melville died from complications of tuberculosis, causing a family crisis. His father had also suffered a debilitating illness earlier in life and had been restored to health by a convalescence in [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]. Bell's parents precipitated a long-planned move when they realized that their remaining son was also sickly. Making a swift judgement, Alexander Melville Bell asked Bell to arrange for the sale of all the family property,<ref> Bruce 1990, p. 67-68. Note: The family pet was given to his brother's family.</ref> conclude all of his brother's affairs (Bell took over a last student, curing a pronounced lisp)<ref> Bruce 1990, p. 68.</ref> and join his father and mother in setting out for the "[[New World]]."<ref>Groundwater 2005, p. 33. </ref> Reluctantly, Bell also had to conclude a relationship with Marie Eccleston, whom he surmised was not prepared to leave England with him.<ref> Groundwater 2005, p. 33.</ref>

==Canada==
In 1870, at age 23, Bell, his brother's widow, Caroline (Margaret Ottaway),<ref> Mackay 1997, p. 50.</ref> and his parents travelled on the ''SS Nestorian'' to Canada.<ref> Petrie 1975, p. 10.</ref> After landing at Quebec City, the Bells boarded a train to [[Montreal]] and later to [[Paris, Ontario]] to stay with the Reverend Thomas Henderson, a family friend. After a brief stay with the Hendersons, the Bell family purchased a ten and a half acre farm at Tutelo Heights (now called Tutela Heights), near [[Brantford]], [[Ontario]]. The property consisted of an orchard, larger farm house, stable, pigsty, hen-house and carriage house, bordering the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]].<ref> Mackay 1997, p. 61. Note: The estate is today known as the "Bell Homestead."</ref>

At the homestead, Bell set up his own workshop in the converted [[carriage house]]<ref name="Wing p. 10"> Wing 1980, p. 10.</ref> near to what he called his "dreaming place," a large hollow nestled in trees at the back of the property above the river.<ref> Groundwater 2005, p. 34.</ref> Despite his frail condition upon arriving in Canada, Bell found the climate and environs to his liking, and rapidly improved.<ref> Mackay 1997, p. 62. Note: Bell would later write that he had come to Canada a "dying man."</ref> He continued his interest in the study of the human voice and when he discovered the [[Six Nations 40, Ontario|Six Nations Reserve]] across the river at [[Onondaga]], he learned the Mohawk language and translated its unwritten vocabulary into Visible Speech symbols. For his work, Bell was awarded the title of honorary chief and participated in a ceremony where he donned a [[Mohawk]] headdress and danced traditional dances.<ref> Groundwater 2005, p. 35. Note: Bell was thrilled at his recognition by the Six Nations Reserve and throughout his life, would launch into a Mohawk war dance when he was excited.</ref>

After setting up his workshop, Bell continued experiments based on Helmholtz's work with electricity and sound.<ref name="Wing p. 10"> Wing 1980, p. 10.</ref> He designed a [[piano]] which, by means of electricity, could transmit its music at a distance. Once the family was settled in, both Bell and his father made plans to establish a teaching practice and in 1871, he accompanied his father to Montreal, where Melville was offered a position to teach his System of Visible Speech.

==Work with the deaf==
Subsequently, his father was invited by Sarah Fuller, principal of the [[Horace Mann|Boston School for Deaf Mutes]] (which continues today as the [[Horace Mann|Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing]]),<ref> Bruce 1990, p. 74.</ref> in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States]], to introduce the Visible Speech System by providing training for Fuller's instructors but he declined the post, in favor of his son. Travelling to Boston in April 1871, Bell provided a successful inservicing of the school's instructors.<ref>Town 1988, p. 12.</ref> He was subsequently asked to repeat the program at the [[American School for the Deaf|American Asylum for Deaf-mutes]] in [[Hartford]] and the [[Clarke School for the Deaf]] in [[Northampton]].

Returning home to Brantford after six months abroad, Bell continued his experiments with his "harmonic telegraph."<ref> ''Alexander Graham Bell'' 1979, p. 8. Note: In later years, Bell described the invention of the telephone and linked it to his "dreaming place."</ref>The basic concept behind his device was that messages could be sent through one wire if each message was transmitted at a different pitch but work on both the transmitter and receiver were needed.<ref name="Groundwater p. 39">Groundwater 2005, p. 39.</ref> Unsure of his future, he first contemplated returning to London to complete his studies but decided to return to Boston as a teacher.<ref> Petrie 1975, p. 14. </ref> His father helped him set up his private practise by contacting [[Gardiner Greene Hubbard]], the president of the Clarke School for the Deaf for a recommendation. Teaching his father's system, in October 1872, Alexander Bell opened a school in Boston named the "Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech" which attracted a large number of deaf pupils.<ref> Petrie 1975, p. 15. </ref> His first class numbered 30 students.<ref> Town 1988, p. 12-13.</ref> Working as a private tutor, one of his most famous pupils was [[Helen Keller]], who came to him as a young child, unable to see, hear or speak. She later was to say that Bell dedicated his life to the penetration of that "inhuman silence which separates and estranges."<ref> Petrie 1975, p. 17.</ref>

==Continuing experimentation==
In the following year, Bell became professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at the [[Boston University]] School of Oratory. During this period, he alternated between Boston and Brantford, spending summers in his Canadian home. At Boston University, Bell was "swept up" by the excitement engendered by the many scientists and inventors resident in the city. He continued his research in sound and endeavoured to find a way to transmit musical notes and articulate speech, but although absorbed by his experiments, he found it difficult to devote enough time to experimentation. While days and evenings were occupied by his teaching and private classes, Bell began to stay awake late into the night, running experiment after experiment in rented facilities at his boarding house. Keeping up "[[Night owl (person)|night owl]]" hours, he worried that his work would be discovered and took great pains to lock up his notebooks and laboratory equipment. Bell had a specially made table where he could place his notes and equipment inside a locking cover.<ref> Town 1988, p. 15.</ref> Worse still, his health deteriorated as he suffered severe headaches.<ref name="Groundwater p. 39">Groundwater 2005, p. 39.</ref> Returning to Boston in fall 1873, Bell made a fateful decision to concentrate on his experiments in sound.
[[Image:1876 Bell Speaking into Telephone.jpg|thumb|Bell speaking into prototype model of the telephone]]
Deciding to give up his lucrative private Boston practise, Bell only retained two students, six-year old "Georgie" Sanders, deaf from birth and 15-year old Mabel Hubbard. Each pupil would serve to play an important role in the next developments. George's father, Thomas Sanders, a wealthy businessman, offered Bell a place to stay at nearby [[Salem]] with Georgie's grandmother, complete with a room to "experiment." Although the offer was made by George's mother and followed the year-long arrangement in 1872 where her son and his nurse had moved to quarters next to Bell's boarding house, it was clear that Mr. Sanders was backing the proposal. The arrangement was for teacher and student to continue their work together with free room and board thrown in.<ref>Town 1988, p. 16.</ref> Mabel was a bright, attractive girl who was ten years his junior but became the object of Bell's affection. Losing her hearing after a bout of [[scarlet fever]] at age five, she had learned to read lips but her father, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Bell's [[benefactor]] and personal friend, wanted her to work directly with her teacher.<ref> Dunn 1990, p. 20.</ref>

==Telephone==
{{main|Invention of the telephone}}
By 1874, Bell's initial work on the harmonic telegraph had entered a formative stage with progress made both at his new Boston "laboratory" as well as at his family home in Canada.<ref>''Alexander Graham Bell'' 1979, p. 8. "Brantford is justified in calling herself 'The Telephone City' because the telephone originated there. It was invented in Brantford at Tutela Heights in the summer of 1974."</ref>
While working that summer in Brantford, Bell experimented with a "phonautograph," a pen-like machine that could draw shapes of sound waves on smoked glass by tracing their vibrations. Bell thought it might be possible to generate undulating electrical currents that corresponded to sound waves.<ref> Matthews 1999, p. 19-21.</ref> Bell also thought that multiple metal reeds tuned to different frequencies like a harp would be able to convert the undulatory currents back into sound. But he had no working model to demonstrate the feasibility of these ideas.<ref> Matthews 1999, p. 21. </ref>

In 1874, telegraph message traffic was rapidly expanding and in the words of [[Western Union]] President William Orton, had become "the nervous system of commerce." Orton had contracted with inventors [[Thomas Edison]] and [[Elisha Gray]] to find a way to send multiple [[telegraphy|telegraph]] messages on each telegraph line to avoid the great cost of constructing new lines.<ref> [http://ieee.cincinnati.fuse.net/reiman/03_2005.htm A History of Electrical Engineering]</ref> When Bell mentioned to Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders that he was working on a method of sending multiple tones on a telegraph wire using a multi-reed device, the two wealthy patrons began to financially support Bell's experiments.<ref> Town 1988, p. 17.</ref> Patent matters would be handled by Hubbard's patent attorney Anthony Pollok.<ref> Evenson 2000, p. 18-25.</ref>

In March 1875, Bell and Pollok visited the famous scientist [[Joseph Henry]], who was then director of the [[Smithsonian Institution]], and asked Henry's advice on the electrical multi-reed apparatus that Bell hoped would transmit the human voice by telegraph. Henry replied that Bell had "the germ of a great invention". When Bell said that he did not have the necessary knowledge, Henry replied, "Get it!" That declaration greatly encouraged Bell to keep trying. Bell did not have the equipment needed to continue his experiments, nor the ability to create a working model of his ideas. A chance meeting in 1874 between Bell and [[Thomas A. Watson]], an experienced electrical designer and mechanic at the electrical machine shop of [[Charles Williams]], changed all that.

With financial support from Sanders and Hubbard, Bell was able to hire Thomas Watson as his assistant and Bell and Watson experimented with [[acoustic telegraphy]]. On [[2 June]] [[1875]], Watson accidentally plucked one of the reeds and Bell at the receiving end of the wire, heard the overtones of the reed, overtones that would be necessary for transmitting speech. That demonstrated to Bell that only one reed or armature was needed, not multiple reeds. This led to the "[[gallows]]" sound-powered telephone, which was able to transmit indistinct voice-like sounds but not clear speech.

===The race to the patent office===
Meanwhile, Elisha Gray was also experimenting with acoustic telegraphy and thought of a way to transmit speech using a water transmitter. On [[14 February]] [[1876]], Gray filed a [[Patent caveat|caveat]] with the U.S. patent office for a telephone design that used a water transmitter. That same morning, Bell's lawyer filed an application with the patent office for the telephone. There is a debate about who arrived first and Gray later challenged the primacy of Bell's patent.<ref >See [[Elisha Gray and Alexander Bell Controversy]].</ref>

On [[14 February]] [[1876]], Bell was in Boston. Hubbard, who was paying for the costs of Bell's patents, told his patent lawyer Anthony Pollok to file Bell's application in the U.S. Patent Office. This was done without Bell's knowledge. Patent Number 174,465 was issued to Bell on [[7 March]] [[1876]] by the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office|U.S. Patent Office]] which covered "the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically… by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sound."<ref>MacLeod 1999, p. 12-13. Note: A copy of the original patent is shown, described as "probably the most valuable patent ever."</ref>

Three days after his patent was issued, Bell experimented with a water transmitter, using an acid-water mixture. Vibration of the diaphragm caused a needle to vibrate in the water which varied the electrical resistance in the circuit. When Bell spoke the famous sentence "Mr Watson — Come here — I want to see you" into the liquid transmitter,<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr002.html Bell's Lab notebook I, p. 40-41 (image 22).]</ref> Watson, listening at the receiving end in an adjoining room, heard the words clearly.<ref>MacLeod 1999, p. 12.</ref>

===Later developments===
Continuing his experiments in Brantford, Bell brought a working model of his telephone home. On [[3 August]] [[1876]], from the telegraph office in [[Mount Pleasant, Brampton, Ontario|Mount Pleasant]] five miles (eight km) away from Brantford, Alexander sent a tentative telegram indicating he was ready. With curious onlookers packed into the office as witnesses, faint voices were heard replying. The following night, he amazed his family and guests when a message was received at the Bell home from Brantford, four miles (six km) distant along an improvised wire strung up along telegraph lines, fences and ending up being laid through a tunnel. This time guests at the household distinctly heard people in Brantford reading and singing. These first long-distance transmissions clearly proved that the telephone could work over long distances.<ref> MacLeod 1999, p. 14.</ref>

Bell and his partners, Hubbard and Sanders, offered to sell the patent outright to Western Union for $100,000. The president of Western Union balked, countering that the telephone was nothing but a toy. Two years later, he told colleagues that if he could get the patent for $25 million he would consider it a bargain. By then the Bell company no longer wanted to sell the patent.<ref>Fenster, Julie M. [http://www.americanheritage.com/events/articles/web/20060307-alexander-graham-bell-telephone-patent-telegraph-elisha-gray-thomas-watson-gardiner-hubbard-western-union-thomas-edison.shtml "Inventing the Telephone—And Triggering All-Out Patent War."] ''American Heritage'', 2006, AmericanHeritage.com.</ref> Bell's investors would become [[millionaire]]s while he fared well from residuals and at one point, had assets nearly reaching one million dollars.<ref> Winfield 1987, p. 21.</ref>

Bell began a series of public demonstrations and lectures in order to introduce the new invention to the scientific community as well as the general public. His demonstration of an early machine at the 1876 Centenary Exhibition in [[Philadelphia]],the following day, made the telephone the featured headline worldwide.<ref> Webb 1991, p. 15.</ref> Influential visitors to the exhibition included [[Emperor Pedro II]] of [[Brazil]], and later Bell had the opportunity to personally demonstrate the invention to [[William Thomson]], a renowned Scottish scientist and even [[Queen Victoria]] who had requested a private audience at [[Osborne House]], her [[Isle of Wight]] home; she called the demonstration "most extraordinary." The enthusiasm that surrounded Bell's public displays laid the groundwork for acceptance of the revolutionary device.<ref> Ross 1995, p. 21-22.</ref>

The [[Bell Telephone Company]] was created in 1877, and by 1886, over 150,000 people in the U.S. owned telephones. Bell company engineers made numerous other improvements to the telephone which developed into one of the most successful products. In 1879, the Bell company acquired Edison's patents for the [[carbon microphone]] from Western Union. This made the telephone practical for long distances, unlike Bell's voice-powered transmitter that required users to shout into it to be heard at the receiving telephone, even at short distances. On [[25 January]] [[1915]], Alexander Graham Bell sent the first transcontinental telephone call, at 15 Day Street in [[New York City]], which was received by [[Thomas Watson]] at 333 Grant Avenue in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Phone to Pacific From the Atlantic |url=http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0125.html |quote=On October 9, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson talked by telephone to each other over a two-mile wire stretched between Cambridge and Boston. It was the first wire conversation ever held. Yesterday afternoon [on January 25, 1915] the same two men talked by telephone to each other over a 3,400-mile wire between New York and San Francisco. Dr. Bell, the veteran inventor of the telephone, was in New York, and Mr. Watson, his former associate, was on the other side of the continent. They heard each other much more distinctly than they did in their first talk thirty-eight years ago. |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=[[26 January]], [[1915]] |accessdate=2007-07-21 }}</ref>

===Competitors===

As is sometimes common in scientific discoveries, simultaneous developments can occur, as evidenced by a number of inventors who were at work on the telephone.<ref> MacLeod 1999, p. 19. Note: Bell's laboratory notes and family letters were the key to establishing a long lineage to his experiments.</ref> Although many of these devices had common features that were incorporated in Bell's machine, none were successful in establishing priority over the original Bell patent.<ref> Black 1997, p. 19.</ref> The Bell company lawyers successfully fought off a myriad of lawsuits generated initially around the challenges by Elisha Gray and [[Amos Dolbear]].<ref> Mackay 1997, p. 179. Note: Both Gray and Dolbear had acknowledged his prior work in personal correspondence to Bell which considerably weakened their later claims. </ref> On [[13 January]] [[1887]], the Government of the United States moved to annul the patent issued to Bell on the grounds of fraud and misrepresentation. The prosecuting attorney was the Hon. George M. Stearns under the direction of the Solicitor General George A. Jenks.<ref>[http://bst.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/22/6/426.pdf Basilio Catania 2002 "The United States Government vs. Alexander Graham Bell. An important acknowledgment for Antonio Meucci" Bulletin of Science Technology Society.2002; 22: 426-442]</ref> The Bell company decisively won the landmark case.<ref> Bruce 1990, p. 277. Note: Bell's direct and cross-examination testimony alone filled 445 pages but was the key to the decision against the government.</ref>

Over a period of 18 years, the Bell Telephone Company faced over 600 litigations from inventors claiming to have invented the telephone, never once losing a case.<ref> Groundwater 2005, p. 95.</ref> One such example was Italian inventor [[Antonio Meucci]] who claimed in 1834 to have created the first working model of a telephone in [[Italy]]. In 1876, Meucci took Bell to court in order to establish his priority. Meucci lost his case due to lack of material evidence of his inventions. Meucci's work, like many other inventors of the period, was based around earlier acoustic principles.<ref> Bruce 1990, p. 271-272. Note: Meucci had a "tin-can on a string" telephone that could never have been patented as it was not an original invention. Bell's lawyer, William Sorrow later wrote: "Meucci is the silliest and weakest imposter who has ever turned up against the patent."</ref> However, due to the efforts of Italian American Congressman [[Vito Fossella]], [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.RES.269: Resolution 269] the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] on [[11 June]] [[2002]] stated that Meucci's "work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged," even though this did not put an end to a still contentious issue.<ref>[http://www.house.gov/fossella/Press/pr020611.htm Vito Fossella's Press Release on Resolution 269] Original material about Meucci's work and his trial against Bell can be found here: [http://www.esanet.it/chez_basilio/meucci.htm Basilio Catania's Work on Antonio Meucci, [http://www.aei.it/ita/museo/mam_intel.htm Federazione Italiana di Elettrotecnica Museo Antonio Meucci]</ref> Overwhelmingly, modern scholars do not recognize the claims of acoustic devices such as Meucci's had any bearing on the development of the telephone.<ref> [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_Antonio_Meucci.htm Antonio Meucci] Note: Tomas Farley also writes that, "Nearly every scholar agrees that Bell and Watson were the first to transmit intelligible speech by electrical means. Others transmitted a sound or a click or a buzz but our boys [Bell and Watson] were the first to transmit speech one could understand."</ref>

The value of the Bell patent was acknowledged throughout the world, and when Bell had delayed the German patent application, the electrical firm of [[Siemens AG|Siemens & Halske (S&H)]] managed to set up a rival manufacturer of Bell telephones under their own patent.<ref> Mackay 1997, p. 178. Note: The Siemens company produced near-identical copies of the Bell telephone without paying royalties.</ref> A series of agreements in other countries eventually consolidated a global telephone operation. The strain on Bell by his constant appearances in court necessitated by the legal battles, eventually resulted in his resignation from the company.<ref> Parker 1995, p. 23. Note: Many of the lawsuits became rancorous with Elisha Gray becoming particularly bitter over Bell's ascendancy in the telephone debate but Alec refused to launch counter actions for libel.</ref>

==Family life==
On [[11 July]] [[1877]], a few days after the [[Bell Telephone Company]] began, Bell married [[Mabel Gardiner Hubbard|Mabel Hubbard]] (1857-1923) at the Hubbard estate in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], and shortly after, embarked on a year-long honeymoon in Europe. During the Bells' European honeymoon, Alec brought a handmade model of his telephone with him, making it a "working holiday." Although the courtship had begun years earlier, Alexander waited until he was financially secure before marrying. Although the telephone appeared to be an "instant" success, it was not initially a profitable venture and Bell's main sources of income were from lectures until after 1897.<ref>Dunn 1990, p. 28.</ref> One unusual request exacted by his fiancée was that he use "Alec" rather than the family's earlier familiar name. From 1876, he would sign his name "Alec Bell."<ref> Mackay 1997, p. 120.</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Mrs. A.G. Bell Dies. Inspired Telephone. Deaf Girl's Romance With Distinguished Inventor Was Due to Her Affliction. |url= |quote= |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=[[4 January]], [[1923]], Thursday |accessdate=2007-07-21 }}</ref> They had four children: Elsie May Bell (1878-1964) who married [[Gilbert Grosvenor]] of [[National Geographic]] fame;<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Dr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor Dies; Head of National Geographic, 90; Editor of Magazine 55 Years Introduced Photos, Increased Circulation to 4.5 Million |url= |quote=[[Baddeck]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[4 February]] [[1964]] (Canadian Press) Dr. [[Gilbert H. Grosvenor]], chairman of the board and former president of the [[National Geographic Society]] and editor of the National Geographic magazine from 1899 to 1954, died on the [[Cape Breton Island]] estate once owned by his father-in-law, the inventor Alexander Graham Bell. He was 90 years old. |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=[[February 5]], [[1966]], Saturday |accessdate=2007-07-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Mrs. Gilbert Grosvenor Dead; Joined in Geographic's Treks; Married Professor's Son |url= |quote=[[Washington, DC]], [[26 December]] [[1964]]. Mrs. Elsie May Bell Grosvenor, wife of Dr. Gilbert Grosvenor, chairman of the board of the [[National Geographic Society]], died this evening at her home in [[Bethesda, Maryland]]. She was 86 years old. Death was attributed to heart disease and old age. |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=[[27 December]] [[1964]], Sunday |accessdate=2007-07-21 }}</ref> Marian Hubbard Bell (1880-1962) who was referred to as "Daisy";<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Mrs. David Fairchild, 82, Dead; Daughter of Bell, Phone Inventor |url= |quote=[[Baddeck]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[September 24]], [[1962]] ([[Canadian Press]]) Mrs. Marian Bell Fairchild of Miami, widow of David Fairchild, noted plant explorer, and daughter of the telephone pioneer Alexander Graham Bell, died tonight at her summer home. She was 82 years old. |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=[[25 September]] [[1962]], Tuesday |accessdate=2007-07-21}}</ref> and two sons who died in infancy.

In 1882, Bell became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the United States. The Bell family maintained a residence in [[Washington, DC]], where Alec set up a laboratory. In 1915, he characterized his status as: "I am not one of those hyphenated Americans who claim allegiance to two countries." Despite this declaration, Bell has been claimed as a "native son" by [[Canada]], Scotland and the [[United States]].<ref>Bruce 1990, p. 90, 471-472.</ref> By 1885, a new summer retreat was contemplated. That summer, the Bells had a vacation on [[Cape Breton Island]] in [[Nova Scotia]], spending time at the small village of [[Baddeck]]. Returning in 1886, Bell started building an estate on a point across from Baddeck, overlooking [[Bras d'Or Lake]]. By 1889, a large house, christened "The Lodge" was completed and two years later, a larger complex of buildings were begun that the Bells would name ''[[Beinn Bhreagh]]''(Gaelic: ''beautiful'' ''mountain'') after Alec's ancestral Scottish highlands.<ref> Tulloch 2006, p. 25-27. Note: Under the direction of the Boston architects, Cabot, Everett and Mead, a Nova Scotia company, Rhodes, Curry and Company, carried out the actual construction. </ref> Bell would spend his final, and some of his most productive years in residence in both Washington, D.C. and [[Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia|Beinn Bhreagh]].<ref> MacLeod 1999, p. 22.</ref>

Until the end of his life Bell and his family would alternate between the two homes, but ''Beinn Bhreagh'' would, over the next 30 years, become more than a summer home as Bell became so absorbed in his experiments that annual stays lengthened. Both Mabel and Alec became immersed in the Baddeck community and were accepted by the villagers as "their own." The Bells were still in residence at ''Beinn Bhreagh'' when the [[Halifax Explosion]] occurred on [[6 December]] [[1917]]. Mabel and Alec mobilized the community to help victims in Halifax.<ref> Tulloch 2006, p. 42.</ref>

==Later inventions==
Although Alexander Graham Bell is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, his interests were extremely varied.<ref> Gray 2006, p. 219. Note: Bell's work ranged "unfettered across the scientific landscape" according to Gray. He often went to bed voraciously reading the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', scouring it for new areas of interest.</ref> The range of Bell's inventive genius is represented only in part by the 18 patents granted in his name alone and the 12 he shared with his collaborators. These included 14 for the telephone and telegraph, four for the [[photophone]], one for the [[phonograph]], five for aerial vehicles, four for "hydroairplanes" and two for [[selenium]] cells. Bell's inventions spanned a wide range of interests and included a metal jacket to assist in breathing, the [[audiometer]] to detect minor hearing problems, a device to locate icebergs, investigations on how to separate salt from seawater, and work on finding alternative fuels.

Bell worked extensively in medical research and invented techniques for teaching speech to the deaf. During his Volta Laboratory period, Bell and his associates considered impressing a magnetic field on a record as a means of reproducing sound. Although the trio briefly experimented with the concept, they were unable to develop a workable prototype. They abandoned the idea, never realizing they had glimpsed a basic principle which would one day find its application in the [[tape recorder]], the [[hard disc]] and [[floppy disc]] drive and other [[magnetic medium|magnetic media]].

Bell's own home used a primitive form of [[air conditioning]], in which fans blew currents of air across great blocks of ice. He also anticipated modern concerns with fuel shortages and industrial pollution. [[Methane]] gas, he reasoned, could be produced from the waste of farms and factories. At his Canadian estate in Nova Scotia, he experimented with [[composting toilet]]s and devices to capture water from the atmosphere. In a magazine interview published shortly before his death, he reflected on the possibility of using [[Photovoltaic module|solar panel]]s to heat houses.

===Metal detector===
Bell is also credited with the invention of the [[metal detector]] in 1881. The device was hurriedly put together in an attempt to find the bullet in the body of [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[James Garfield]]. The metal detector worked flawlessly in tests but did not find the assassin's bullet partly because the metal bed frame the president was lying on disturbed the instrument, resulting in static.<ref name="Grosvenor and Wesson, p. 107">Grosvenor and Wesson 1997, p. 107.</ref> The president's surgeons, who were sceptical of the device, ignored Bell's requests to move the president to a bed not fitted with metal springs. Alternately, although Bell had detected a slight sound on his first test, the bullet may have lodged too deeply to be detected by the crude apparatus.<ref name="Grosvenor and Wesson, p. 107"/> Bell gave a full account of his experiments in a paper read before the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] in August 1882.

===Hydrofoils===
{{main|Hydrofoil}}
[[Image:Bell HD-4.jpg|thumb|Bell HD-4 on a test run c. 1919]]
The March 1906 ''[[Scientific American]]'' article by American [[hydrofoil]] pioneer [[William E. Meacham]] explained the basic principle of [[hydrofoil]]s and [[hydroplane]]s. Bell considered the invention of the hydroplane as a very significant achievement. Based on information gained from that article he began to sketch concepts of what is now called a hydrofoil boat. Bell and assistant [[Frederick W. Baldwin|Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin]] began hydrofoil experimentation in the summer of 1908 as a possible aid to airplane takeoff from water. Baldwin studied the work of the Italian inventor [[Enrico Forlanini]] and began testing models. This led him and Bell to the development of practical hydrofoil watercraft.

During his world tour of 1910–1911, Bell and Baldwin met with Forlanini in France. They had rides in the Forlanini hydrofoil boat over [[Lake Maggiore]]. Baldwin described it as being as smooth as flying. On returning to Baddeck, a number of initial concepts were built as experimental models, including the ''Dhonnas Beag'', the first self-propelled Bell-Baldwin hydrofoil.<ref> Boileau 2004, p. 18.</ref> The experimental boats were essentially proof-of-concept prototypes that culminated in the more substantial HD-4, powered by [[Renault]] engines. A top speed of 54 miles per hour (87 km/h) was achieved, with the hydrofoil exhibiting rapid acceleration, good stability and steering along with the ability to take waves without difficulty.<ref> Boileau 2004, p. 28-30.</ref> In 1913, Dr. Bell hired Walter Pinaud, a Sydney yacht designer and builder as well as the proprietor of Pinaud's Yacht Yard in Westmount, Nova Scotia to work on the pontoons of the HD-4. Pinaud soon took over the boatyard at Bell Laboratories on Beinn Bhreagh, Bell's estate near [[Baddeck, Nova Scotia]]. Pinaud's experience in boat-building enabled him to make useful design changes to the HD-4. After the [[World War I|First World War]], work began again on the HD-4. Bell's report to the U.S. Navy permitted him to obtain two 350 [[horsepower]] (260 [[Watt|kW]]) engines in July 1919. On [[9 September]] [[1919]], the HD-4 set a world's marine speed record of 70.86 miles per hour (114.04 km/h).<ref> Boileau 2004, p. 30.</ref> This record stood for ten years.

===Aeronautics===
{{main|Aerial Experiment Association}}{{main|AEA Silver Dart}}
[[Image:AEA Silver Dart.jpg|thumb|left|AEA Silver Dart c.1909]]
Bell was a supporter of aerospace engineering research through the [[Aerial Experiment Association]] (AEA), officially formed at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, in October 1907 at the suggestion of Mrs. Mabel Bell and with her financial support. The AEA was headed by Bell and the founding members were four young men: American [[Glenn H. Curtiss]], a motorcycle manufacturer who later was awarded the Scientific American Trophy for the first official one-kilometre flight in the [[Western hemisphere]] and became a world-renowned airplane manufacturer; [[Frederick W. Baldwin]], the first Canadian and first British subject to pilot a public flight in [[Hammondsport, New York]]; [[J.A.D. McCurdy]]; and Lieutenant [[Thomas Selfridge]], an official observer from the U.S. government.
In 1891, Bell began experiments to develop motor-powered heavier-than-air aircraft.

In 1898, Bell experimented with [[tetrahedral]] [[box kite]]s and wings constructed of multiple compound [[tetrahedral kite]]s covered in silk. The tetrahedral wings were named ''Cygnet'' I, II and III, and were flown both unmanned and manned (''Cygnet I'' crashed during a flight carrying Selfridge) in the period from 1907-1912. Some of Bell's kites are on display at the [[Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site]].

The AEA's work progressed to heavier-than-air machines, applying their knowledge of kites to gliders. Moving to Hammondsport, the group then designed and built the [[AEA Red Wing|''Red Wing'']], framed in bamboo and covered in red silk and powered by a small air-cooled engine.<ref> Phillips 1977, p. 95.</ref> On [[12 March]] [[1908]], the biplane lifted off on the first public flight in North America.<ref>"Selfridge Aerodrome Sails Steadily for 319 Feet." ''[[Washington Post]]'' [[13 May]] [[1908]]. Quote: At 25 to 30 Miles an Hour. First Public Trip of Heavier-than-air Car in America. Professor Alexander Graham Bell's New Machine, Built After Plans by Lieutenant Selfridge, Shown to Be Practicable by Flight Over [[Keuka Lake]]. Portion of Tail Gives Way, Bringing the Test to an End. Views of an Expert. [[Hammondsport, New York]], [[12 March]] [[1908]]. Professor Alexander Graham Bell's new aeroplane, the Red Wing, was given its test flight over Lake Keuka today by F.W. Baldwin, the engineer in charge of its construction. The machine was built by the Aerial Experiment Association for Lieut. Thomas Selfridge, U.S.A.</ref> The innovations that were incorporated into this design included a cockpit enclosure and tail rudder (later variations on the original design would add ailerons as a means of control). One of the AEA project's inventions, the [[aileron]], is a standard component of aircraft today. (The aileron was also invented independently by [[Robert Esnault-Pelterie]].) The ''White Wing'' and ''June Bug'' were to follow and by the end of 1908, over 150 flights without mishap had been accomplished. However, the AEA had depleted its initial reserves and only a $10,000 grant from Mrs. Bell allowed it to continue with experiments.<ref> Phillips 1977, p. 96.</ref>

Their final aircraft design, the [[AEA Silver Dart|''Silver Dart'']] embodied all of the advancements found in the earlier machines. On [[23 February]] [[1909]], Bell was present as the ''Silver Dart'' flown by J.A.D. McCurdy from the frozen ice of Lake Baddeck, made the first aircraft flight in Canada (and the British Empire). Bell had worried that the flight was too dangerous and had arranged for a doctor to be on hand. With the successful flight, the AEA disbanded and the ''Silver Dart'' would revert to Baldwin and McCurdy who began the Canadian Aerodrome Company and would later demonstrate the aircraft to the Canadian Army.<ref> Phillips 1977, p. 96-97.</ref>

==Eugenics==

Along with many very prominent thinkers and scientists of the time, Bell was connected with the [[eugenics]] movement in the United States. In his lecture ''Memoir upon the formation of a deaf variety of the human race'' presented to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] on [[13 November]] [[1883]] he noted that congenitally deaf parents were more likely to produce deaf children and tentatively suggested that couples where both parties were deaf should not marry.<ref>Bell, Alexander Graham. [http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED033502&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED033502 "Memoir upon the formation of a deaf variety of the human race."] ''Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf'', 1883. Retrieved: [[13 December]] [[2007]].</ref> However, it was his hobby of livestock breeding which led to his appointment to biologist [[David Starr Jordan]]'s Committee on Eugenics, under the auspices of the [[American Breeders Association]]. The committee unequivocally extended the principle to man.<ref> Bruce 1990, p. - 410-417.</ref> From 1912 until 1918 he was the chairman of the board of scientific advisers to the [[Eugenics Record Office]] associated with [[Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory]] in [[New York]], and regularly attended meetings. In 1921, he was the honorary president of the [[Second International Congress of Eugenics]] held under the auspices of the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in New York. Organisations such as these advocated passing laws (with success in some states) that established the [[compulsory sterilization]] of people deemed to be, as Bell called them, a "defective variety of the human race". By the late 1930s, about half the states in the U.S. had eugenics laws, and the [[California]] laws were used as a model for eugenics laws in [[Nazi Germany]].

His ideas about people he considered defective centered on the deaf. This was because of his feelings for his deaf family and his contact with [[deaf education]]. In addition to advocating sterilization of the deaf, Bell wished to prohibit deaf teachers from being allowed to teach in schools for the deaf. He worked to outlaw the marriage of deaf individuals to one another, and he was an ardent supporter of [[oralism]] over the use of [[sign language]] to educate deaf students.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} His avowed goal was to eradicate the language and culture of the deaf so as to encourage them to assimilate into the hearing culture, for their own long-term benefit and for the benefit of society at large. {{Fact|date=June 2007}} 

Although he supported what some consider harsh and inhumane policies today, he was not unkind to deaf individuals who supported his theories of oralism. He was a personal and longtime friend of [[Helen Keller]], and his wife Mabel was deaf (though none of their children were).

==Awards and honours==
In 1880, Bell received the Volta Prize of 50,000 francs ($10,000) for the invention of the telephone from L’[[Académie française]], representing the French government, in [[Paris]]. Among the luminaries who judged were Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, fils. The Volta Prize was established by Napoleon Banaparte in 1803 to honor Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist noted for developing the battery. (The modern usage of the word "volt" is derived from his name.) Since he was reaching affluent circumstances himself, Bell used the money from the Prize to create a number of social structures in and around Washington, D.C. using the symbolic "Volta": the "Volta Fund," "Volta Laboratories" and "Volta Bureau."

In partnership with Gardiner Hubbard, Bell established the publication ''Science'' in 1883. In 1888, Bell was one of the founding members of the [[National Geographic Society]] and became its second president (1897-1904) and Regent of the [[Smithsonian]] Institution (1898-1922). He was the recipient of many honours. The [[France|French]] government conferred on him the decoration of the [[Légion d'honneur]] (Legion of Honour); the [[Royal Society of Arts]] in London awarded him the [[Albert Medal (RSA)|Albert Medal]] in 1902; and the [[University of Würzburg]], [[Bavaria]], granted him a Ph.D. He was awarded the [[American Institute of Electrical Engineers|AIEE]]'s [[Edison Medal]] in 1914 "For meritorious achievement in the invention of the telephone."

==Death==
Bell died of [[pernicious anemia]] on [[2 August]] [[1922]], at his private estate, Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia, at age 75.<ref>Gray 2006, p. 418.</ref> While tending to her husband after a long illness, Mabel whispered, "Don't leave me." By way of reply, Bell traced the sign for "No" – and promptly expired.<ref>Bruce 1990, p. 491.</ref>

Dr. Alexander Graham Bell was buried atop Beinn Bhreagh mountain overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. He was survived by his wife and his two daughters, Elisa May and Marion.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Dr. Bell, Inventor of Telephone, Dies |url=http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0303.html |quote=Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, died at 2 o'clock this morning at Beinn Breagh, his estate near Baddeck. |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=[[3 August]] [[1922]] |accessdate=2007-07-21 }}</ref>

==Honours and tributes==
The bel (B) is a unit of measurement invented by [[Bell Labs]] and named after Bell. The bel was too large for everyday use, so the [[decibel]] (dB), equal to 0.1 B, became more commonly used as a unit for measuring sound intensity.<ref>[http://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/handbook/Decibel.html Decibel] Note: The decibel is defined as one tenth of a bel.</ref>

In the early 1970s, the UK rock group [[The Sweet]] recorded a tribute to Bell and the telephone, suitably titled "Alexander Graham Bell". The song gives a fictional account of the invention, in which Bell devises the telephone so he can talk to his girlfriend who lives on the other side of the United States. The song reached the top 40 in the UK and went on to sell over one million recordings worldwide.

The [[Royal Bank of Scotland]] £1 note was issued to mark the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Alexander Graham Bell on [[3 March]] [[1997]].<ref> [http://www.rampantscotland.com/SCM/royalcomm.htm Royal Bank Commemorative Notes]</ref>

Eric Walters' ''The Hydrofoil Mystery'' (1999) sets a novel in Alexander Graham Bell's workshops, casting the hydrofoil as a new weapon of war being readied for use against German U-boats in the [[World War I|First World War]].<ref> Walters 1999, p. 166-167.</ref>

Bell was honoured on the television programs the [[100 Greatest Britons]] (2002), the top-ten [[The Greatest Canadian|Greatest Canadians]] (2004), and [[The Greatest American|the 100 Greatest Americans]] (2005). The nominees and rankings for these programs were determined by popular vote. Bell was the only person to be on more than one of the programs.

Another musical tribute to Bell, ''Alexander Graham Bell'' (2006) was written by the British songwriter and guitarist [[Richard Thompson]]. The chorus reminds the listener that "of course there was the telephone, he'd be famous for that alone, but there's 50 other things as well from Alexander Graham Bell".<ref>[http://www.richardthompson-music.com/song_o_matic.asp?id=490 Thompson's song] The song mentions Bell's work with discs rather than cylinders, the hydrofoil, his work with the deaf, the invention of the respirator and several other of Bell's achievements.</ref>

One of the residence halls at [[Rochester Institute of Technology]] adjacent to the [[National Technical Institute for the Deaf]] building is Alexander Graham Bell Hall.

There is a public grammar (K-8) school on the north side of Chicago named Alexander Graham Bell School. This school educates deaf, blind, mentally disabled, gifted and standard students.

==See also==
<div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;">
*[[Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing]]
*[[Invention of the telephone]]
*[[Emile Berliner]]
*[[Charles Bourseul]]
*[[Thomas Edison]]
*[[Elisha Gray]]
*[[Elisha Gray and Alexander Bell telephone controversy]]
*[[Innocenzo Manzetti]]
*[[Antonio Meucci]]
*[[Philipp Reis]]
*[[Graham Bell Island]]
*[[Oriental Telephone Company]]
</div>

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist|2}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
* ''Alexander Graham Bell'' (booklet). Halifax, Nova Scotia: Maritime Telegraph & Telephone Limited, 1979.
* Bruce, Robert V. ''Bell: Alexander Bell and the Conquest of Solitude''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-80149691-8.
* Black, Harry. ''Canadian Scientists and Inventors: Biographies of People who made a Difference''. Markham, Ontario: Pembroke Publishers Limited, 1997. ISBN 1-55138-081-1.
* Boileau, John. ''Fastest in the World: The Saga of Canada's Revolutionary Hydrofoils''. Halifax, Nova Soctia: Formac Publishing Company Limited, 2004. ISBN 0-88780-621-X.
* Dunn, Andrew. ''Alexander Graham Bell'' (Pioneers of Science series). East Sussex, UK: Wayland (Publishers) Limited, 1990. ISBN 1-8521-958-0.
* Eber, Dorothy Harley. ''Genius at Work: Images of Alexander Graham Bell''. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1982. ISBN 0-7710-3036-3.
* Evenson, A. Edward. ''The Telephone Patent Conspiracy of 1876: The Elisha Gray - Alexander Bell Controversy''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7864-0138-9.
* Gray, Charlotte. ''Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention''. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-55970-809-3.
* Groundwater, Jennifer. ''Alexander Graham Bell: The Spirit of Invention''. Calgary: Altitude Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-55439-006-0.
* Grosvenor, Edwin S. and Wesson, Morgan. ''Alexander Graham Bell: The Life and Times of the Man Who Invented the Telephone''. New York: Harry N. Abrahms, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0-8109-4005-1.
* Mackay, James. ''Sounds Out of Silence: A life of Alexander Graham Bell''. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 1-85158-833-7.
* MacLeod, Elizabeth. ''Alexander Graham Bell: An Inventive Life''. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1999. ISBN 1-55074-456-9.
* Matthews, Tom L. ''Always Inventing: A Photobiography of Alexander Graham Bell''. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1999. ISBN 0-7922-7391-5.
* Micklos, John Jr. ''Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor of the Telephone''. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd., 2006. ISBN 978-0-06-057618-9.
* Parker, Steve. ''Alexander Graham Bell and the Telephone''(Science Discoveries series). New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1995. ISBN 0-7910-3004-0.
* Petrie, A. Roy. ''Alexander Graham Bell''. Don Mills, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, 1975. ISBN 0-88902-209-7.
* Phillips, Allan. ''Into the 20th Century: 1900/1910'' (Canada's Illustrated Heritage). Toronto: Natural Science of Canada Limited, 1977. ISBN 0-9196-4422-8.
* Ross, Stewart. ''Alexander Graham Bell'' (Scientists who Made History series). New York: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0-7398-441-6.
* Town, Florida. ''Alexander Graham Bell''. Toronto: Grolier Limited, 1988. ISBN 0-7172-1950-X.
* Tulloch, Judith. ''The Bell Family in Baddeck: Alexander Graham Bell and Mabel Bell in Cape Breton''. Halifax: Formac Publishing Company Limited, 2006. ISBN 978-0-88780-713-8.
* Walters, Eric. ''The Hydrofoil Mystery''. Toronto: Puffin Books, 1999. ISBN 0-14-130220-8.
* Webb, Michael, ed. ''Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor of the Telephone''. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada: Copp Clark Pitman Ltd., 1991. ISBN 0-7730-5049-3.
* Winfield, Richard. ''Never the Twain Shall Meet: Bell, Gallaudet, and the Communications Debate''. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-913580-99-6.
* Wing, Chris. ''Alexander Graham Bell at Baddeck''. Baddeck, Nova Scotia: Christopher King, 1980.
;Further reading
* Bender, Lionel. ''Invention'' (Eyewitness Books series). London: Dorling Kindersley Books, 1991. ISBN 0-7737-2464-8.
* Coe, Lewis. ''The Telephone and Its Several Inventors: A History''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 1995. ISBN 0-7864-0138-9.
* Costain, Thomas. ''The Chord of Steel: Alexander Graham Bell and the Invention of the Telephone''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1960.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}{{commons|Alexander Graham Bell}}
*[http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=42027 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']
*[http://bell.uccb.ns.ca/ Alexander Graham Bell Institute]
*[http://www.aei.it/ita/museo/mam_graf.html (Italian) Timeline for Antonio Meucci]
*[http://www.bellhomestead.ca/ Bell Homestead, National Historic Site]
*[http://virtualology.com/ALEXANDERGRAHAMBELL.ORG/ Appleton's Biography edited by Stanley L. Klos]
*[http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/grahambell/index_e.asp Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site Museum located in [[Baddeck]], [[Nova Scotia]] containing many of Bell's experiments and models]
*[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bellhtml/bellhome.html Alexander Graham Bell family papers Online version at the Library of Congress comprises a selection of 4,695 items (totaling about 51,500 images) containing correspondence, scientific notebooks, journals, blueprints, articles, and photographs documenting Bell invention of the telephone and his involvement in the first telephone company, his family life, his interest in the education of the deaf and his aeronautical and other scientific work]
*[http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/albell/homepage.html Bell's path to the invention of the telephone]
*[http://histv2.free.fr/bell/bell1.htm Bell's speech before the American Association for the Advancement of Science in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] on [[27 August]] [[1880]], presenting the [[photophone]], very clear description; published as "On the Production and Reproduction of Sound by Light" in the ''American Journal of Sciences'', Third Series, vol. '''XX''', #118, October 1880, p. 305-324 and as "Selenium and the Photophone" in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', September 1880]
*[http://www.alexanderbell.com/ AlexanderBell.com - Telecom pioneer]
*[http://fi.edu/case_files/bell/ Alexander Graham Bell Biographical information, science resources and information on 1912 Franklin Award for 'electrical transmission of articulate speech' at The Franklin Institute's Case Files online exhibit]
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=639385&GRid=2125& Alexander Graham Bell gravesite]
*[http://www.answers.com/topic/alexander-graham-bell Alexander Graham Bell: Biography and Much More from Answers.com Excellent summary of Alexander Graham Bell's life, has many useful dates for important parts of his life]
*[http://www.esanet.it/chez_basilio/us_bell.htm Basilio Catania, 2003 The United States Government vs. Alexander Graham Bell. An important acknowledgment for Antonio Meucci]
*[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bellhtml/agbtree.html Bell family tree]
*[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr002.html ''American Treasures of the Library of Congress'', Alexander Graham Bell - Lab notebook I, p. 40-41 (image 22)]
* [http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=120]
*[http://www.telecomhall.ca/tour/inventors/bell/index.htm Biography and photos] at the [http://www.telecomhall.ca ''Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame '' website]
*[http://www.telecomhall.ca/video/bell.wmv Biographical video footage] at the [http://www.telecomhall.ca ''Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame '' website]

===Bell's patents===
*[http://www.mall-usa.com/uspat/bell/ Complete list] of Bell patents
''U.S. patent images in [[TIFF]] format''
*{{US patent|161739}} ''Improvement in Transmitters and Receivers for Electric Telegraphs'', filed March 1875, issued April 1875 (multiplexing signals on a single wire)
*{{US patent|174465}} ''Improvement in Telegraphy'', filed [[February 14]] [[1876]], issued [[March 7]], [[1876]] (Bell's first telephone patent)
*{{US patent|178399}} ''Improvement in Telephonic Telegraph Receivers'', filed April 1876, issued June 1876
*{{US patent|181553}} ''Improvement in Generating Electric Currents'' (using rotating permanent magnets), filed August 1876, issued August 1876
*{{US patent|186787}} ''Electric Telegraphy'' (permanent magnet receiver), filed [[January 15]] [[1877]], issued [[January 30]] [[1877]]
*{{US patent|235199}} ''Apparatus for Signalling and Communicating, called Photophone'', filed August 1880, issued December 1880
*{{US patent|757012}} ''Aerial Vehicle'', filed June 1903, issued April 1904

===Movie biographies===
* {{imdb title|id=0956089|title=Animated Hero Classics: Alexander Graham Bell (1995)}}
* ''The Story of Alexander Graham Bell'', 1939 film reformatted for VCR tape, Don Ameche playing Bell, (1966) ISBN 0-7939-1251-2
* ''Biography - Alexander Graham Bell'', A&E DVD biography based on historical footage and still pictures of Bell, (2005)
* The Sound and the Silence (1992) (TV) with John Bach as Alexander Graham Bell; Canada / New Zealand / Ireland [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106241/ Sound and the Silence] {{ASIN|B0009K7RUW}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-awards}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Charles Brush]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[IEEE Edison Medal]]|years=1914}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Nikola Tesla]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{start box}}
{{succession box
| before=[[Gardiner Greene Hubbard]]
| title=President of the [[National Geographic Society]]
| years= 1897-1904
| after= }}
{{end box}}



{{Persondata
|NAME=Bell, Alexander Graham
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[Telephone]] inventor
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[3 March]] [[1847]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]]
|DATE OF DEATH=[[2 August]] [[1922]]
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Baddeck, Nova Scotia|Baddeck]], [[Nova Scotia]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Alexander Graham}}
[[Category:1847 births]]
[[Category:1922 deaths]]
[[Category:Alexander Graham Bell| ]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College London]]
[[Category:American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American eugenicists]]
[[Category:American inventors]]
[[Category:American physicists]]
[[Category:Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:Canadian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Canadian eugenicists]]
[[Category:Canadian immigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian inventors]]
[[Category:Canadian physicists]]
[[Category:Légion d'honneur recipients]]
[[Category:National Aviation Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:National Geographic Society]]
[[Category:National Inventors Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:IEEE Edison Medal recipients|Bell]]
[[Category:People from Brantford]]
[[Category:People from Edinburgh]]
[[Category:People from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from Victoria County, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Royal High School alumni]]
[[Category:Scottish businesspeople]]
[[Category:Scottish inventors]]
[[Category:Scottish immigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Scottish physicists]]
[[Category:Scottish immigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Telecommunications history]]
[[Category:American Unitarians]]
[[Category:Canadians of Scottish descent]]

{{Link FA|bs}}

[[ar:ألكسندر غراهام بيل]]
[[ast:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[bn:আলেকজান্ডার গ্রাহাম বেল]]
[[zh-min-nan:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[be-x-old:Аляксандар Бэл]]
[[bs:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[br:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[ca:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[cs:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[da:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[de:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[et:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[el:Αλεξάντερ Γκράχαμ Μπελ]]
[[es:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[eo:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[eu:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[fr:Alexandre Graham Bell]]
[[fy:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[ga:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[gl:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[ko:알렉산더 그레이엄 벨]]
[[hi:अलेक्ज़ांडर ग्राहम बेल]]
[[hr:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[io:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[id:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[is:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[it:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[he:אלכסנדר גרהם בל]]
[[jv:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[sw:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[lv:Aleksandrs Greiems Bells]]
[[lb:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[lt:Aleksandras Grehemas Belas]]
[[hu:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[mk:Александар Грејам Бел]]
[[mr:अलेक्झांडर ग्रॅहॅम बेल]]
[[nl:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[ja:グレアム・ベル]]
[[no:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[oc:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[pl:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[pt:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[ro:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[qu:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[ru:Белл, Александер Грэм]]
[[sco:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[simple:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[sk:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[sr:Александар Грејам Бел]]
[[sh:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[fi:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[sv:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[tl:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[ta:அலெக்ஸாண்டர் கிரஹாம் பெல்]]
[[th:อเล็กซานเดอร์ เกรแฮม เบลล์]]
[[vi:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[tr:Alexander Graham Bell]]
[[uk:Белл Александер Ґрегем]]
[[ur:الیگزنڈر گراہم بیل]]
[[fa:الکساندر گراهام بل]]
[[zh:亚历山大·格拉汉姆·贝尔]]