Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922): The First Person to Speak on the Telephone
Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1847 and passed away in Baddeck, Canada, in 1922.
Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Bell studied methods for teaching the deaf and mute, as well as the mechanics of human sound production. He pursued studies in physiology at University College London and later became a professor of music and vocal expression.
In 1870, he emigrated to Canada and settled in Brantford, Ontario. The following year, in 1871, he moved to Boston to begin public lectures on the sound system his father had invented. By 1873, he was appointed professor of physiology in the Department of Sound at Boston University.
During this time, Bell conducted numerous evening meetings for telephone experiments, which led to the groundbreaking achievement of transmitting the first-ever
Message via Telephone:
Bell called out to his assistant, Thomas Watson:
“Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.”
This remarkable invention alleviated his financial worries before he turned 30 years old.
On July 9, 1877, he established the Bell Telephone Company.
He became stateless in the United States in 1882 and founded a school for the deaf in Washington, D.C., though it was closed two years later.
In 1885, he visited Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada, for the first time. Here, he developed an interest in aviation and began experiments ranging from kites to the construction of the HD-4 hydrofoil, which set a world speed record in September 1919.
In 1910-1911, Bell traveled around the world after investing in the National Geographic Society, of which he was president in 1898.
When he died at the age of 75, there were 14 million telephones in use in the United States.
