Figure 1 ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

LIFE
Alexander Graham Bell, (born March 3, 1847, Edinburgh, Scotland—died August 2, 1922,
Beinn Bhreagh, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada), Scottish-born American inventor,
scientist, and teacher of the deaf whose foremost accomplishments were the invention of the
telephone (1876) and the refinement of the phonograph (1886). Alexander (“Graham” was not
added until he was 11) was born to Alexander Melville Bell and Eliza Grace Symonds. His
mother was almost deaf, and his father taught elocution to the deaf, influencing Alexander’s later
career choice as teacher of the deaf. At age 11 he entered the Royal High School at Edinburgh,
but he did not enjoy the compulsory curriculum, and he left school at age 15 without graduating.
In 1865 the family moved to London. Alexander passed the entrance examinations for University
College London in June 1868 and matriculated there in the autumn. However, he did not
complete his studies, because in 1870 the Bell family moved again, this time immigrating to
Canada after the deaths of Bell’s younger brother Edward in 1867 and older brother Melville in
1870, both of tuberculosis. The family settled in Brantford, Ontario, but in April 1871 Alexander
moved to Boston, where he taught at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes. He also taught at the
Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts, and at the American School for the
Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.

WIFE
Wife On July 11, 1877, Alexander Graham Bell married Mable Hubbard, a former student and
the daughter of Gardiner Hubbard, his initial financial backer.
 Family
The second son of Alexander Melville Bell and Eliza Grace Symonds Bell, Alexander Graham
Bell was named for his paternal grandfather. The middle name “Graham” was added when he
was 10 years old.

He had two brothers, Melville James Bell and Edward Charles Bell, both of whom died from
tuberculosis.

During his youth, Bell experienced strong influences that had a profound effect on his later life.
Bell’s hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland, was known as the “Athens of the North” for its rich
culture of arts and science.

His grandfather and father were experts on the mechanics of voice and elocution. And Bell's
mother became an accomplished pianist despite being deaf, inspiring him to undertake big
challenges. Upon getting married, Alexander and his wife Mable traveled to Europe
demonstrating the telephone; upon their return to the United States, Bell was summoned to
Washington D.C. to defend his telephone patent from lawsuits. Others claimed they had invented
the telephone or had conceived of the idea before Bell. Over the next 18 years, the Bell Company
faced over 550 court challenges, including several that went to the Supreme Court, but none
were successful.

Even during the patent battles, the company grew. Between 1877 and 1886, over 150,000 people
in the U.S. owned telephones. Improvements were made on the device including the addition of a
microphone, invented by Thomas Edison, which eliminated the need to shout into the telephone
to be heard.

INVENTION
Bell’s education was largely received through numerous experiments in sound and the furthering
of his father’s work on Visible Speech for the deaf. Bell worked with Thomas Watson on the
design and patent of the first practical telephone. In all, Bell held 18 patents in his name alone
and 12 that he shared with collaborators.

Alexander Graham Bell's Inventions Alexander Graham Bell is credited for inventing the
telephone; in all, he personally held 18 patents along with 12 he shared with collaborators.
Telephone On March 10, 1876, after years of work, Alexander Graham Bell perfected his most
well-known invention, the telephone, and made his first telephone call.

Alexander Graham Bell began work on a device that would allow for the telegraph transmission
of several messages set to different frequencies in 1871, upon moving to Boston. He found
financial backing through local investors Thomas Sanders and Gardiner Hubbard.
 Alexander Graham Bell's Inventions Alexander Graham Bell is credited for inventing the
telephone; in all, he personally held 18 patents along with 12 he shared with collaborators.

Telephone
On March 10, 1876, after years of work, Alexander Graham Bell perfected his most well-known
invention, the telephone, and made his first telephone call.

Alexander Graham Bell began work on a device that would allow for the telegraph transmission of
several messages set to different frequencies in 1871, upon moving to Boston. He found financial backing
through local investors Thomas Sanders and Gardiner Hubbard. Through 1874 and 1875, Bell and
Watson labored on both the harmonic telegraph and a voice transmitting device. Though at first frustrated
by the diversion, Bell’s investors soon saw the value of voice transmission and filed a patent on the idea.

For now the concept was protected, but the device still had to be developed. In 1876, Bell and Watson
were finally successful.

USE OF TELEPHONE
Legend has it that Bell knocked over a container of transmitting fluid and shouted, “Mr. Watson,
come here. I want you!” The more likely explanation was Bell heard a noise over the wire and
called to Watson. In any case, Watson heard Bell’s voice through the wire and thus, he received
the first telephone call. With this success, Alexander Graham Bell began to promote the
telephone in a series of public demonstrations. At the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, in
1876, Bell demonstrated the telephone to the Emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro, who exclaimed,
“My God, it talks!” Other demonstrations followed, each at a greater distance than the last.

Even during the patent battles, the company grew. Between 1877 and 1886, over 150,000 people
in the U.S. owned telephones. Improvements were made on the device including the addition of a
microphone, invented by Thomas Edison, which eliminated the need to shout into the telephone
to be heard.

EVOLUTION OF TELEPHONE
1800’s – Our flashback begins with the world’s first telephone: the liquid transmitter. Two
inventors, Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray, both independently designed devices that
could transmit speech electronically. Bell reached the patent office mere hours before Gray, and
won the famous battle over the invention of the telephone when his patent was passed on March
7, 1876. The first words that were reportedly transmitted through the telephone receiver were
“Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you.” from Bell to his assistant, Thomas A. Watson. By
early 1877, the first official telephone lines were established as a part of Bell Telephone
Company and the first regular telephone line was constructed between Boston and Somerville,
Massachusetts. Early 1900’s – The first telephone exchanges were performed by a switchboard
throughout the late 1800’s and turn of the century. Almon B. Strowger invented a telephone that
could perform the first automatic telephone exchange and did not require an operator. Although
Strowger filed the first patent for a rotary dial phone in 1891, the dialing devices did not make
their way into the Bell System until the 1920’s.

1970’s-1980’s – Leaping decades ahead, we found ourselves with touchtone dialing and the first
cordless phones by 1970. A completely experimental picture-phone system was developed by
AT&T to transmit images throughout a phone call. Deemed too bulky and expensive, the idea
was scrapped until later on being incorporated into a personal computer. The ‘80s brought about
a revolution in telephony communications with the first testing of VoIP service, caller ID and the
introduction of the mobile phone.

1990’s – Although the term “smartphone” had not been coined at the time of its release, the
IBM Simon is considered the groundbreaking device that first combined telephone and PDA
features. The cell phone craze had hit the ground running with consumers quickly discovering
the benefits of being accessible while on-the-go.

2000’s – The technology throughout this decade advanced exponentially. Mobile phones
became more compact, offered high resolution screens and had more features than ever before.
VoIP technology expanded into businesses and applications, and text/voice/video software such
as Skype allowed people to connect in even more ways.

2012 – With innovative device features such as the iPhone 4S’s Siri and Apple iOS 6’s
Maps and Passbook, we are relying on our cell phones for more and more each day, and fewer
people use a landline phone from their homes. We can now use our cell phones book plane
tickets, find directions to a business or residence, shop for shoes, see what’s new on Facebook,
share photos with the world, check your favorite team’s score, play interactive games with
friends, find out tomorrow’s weather report, and much, much more!
 GROUP 2
.

ALEXANDER
GRAHAM BELL
(TELEPHONE)

I. LIFE OF GRAHAM BELL

II. WIFE/FAMILY
III. INVENTION
IV. USE OF TELEPHONE
V. EVOLUTION OF TELEPHONE