Alexander Graham Bell: The Man Who Made Phone Calls Possible

A Boy Who Wanted a Middle Name

Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3rd, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Alexander Melville Bell, was an expert on the mechanics of the voice and on elocution (the art of public speaking). He dedicated his life to teaching deaf people to speak by using his “Visible speech” method (showing illustrations of speaking positions of the tongue and lips when making a sound). Bell’s mother Eliza was an accomplished pianist and painter, who passed on to her son a passion for music and art.

When Alexander was 10 years old he decided that he wanted to have a middle name like his two brothers, Melville James and Edward Charles. For his 11th birthday, after some negotiating, Bell’s father finally gave in and allowed him to adopt the middle name “Graham”. However, to his family members the newly-fledged Alexander Graham still remained “Aleck”.

When Bell was only 12 his mother’s hearing started to deteriorate rapidly and to include her in family conversations, Bell not only learned a manual finger language, but also developed a technique of speaking in clear, modulated tones directly onto his mother’s forehead. Later his experience and interest for acoustics would prove to be very valuable not only in his career, but also his personal life.

Family Tragedy and a New Start

After graduating from University College London, England, Bell became his father’s assistant, helping deaf people learn how to talk.

When Bell was only 23 years old, both of his brothers died of tuberculosis within the span of four months and Bell himself was battling with the disease. In 1870 his parents, not wanting to lose their last son, convinced Bell to move with them to Canada, where he quickly recovered his health.

In 1871 Bell went to Boston, Massachusetts, to teach at the Sarah Fuller’s School for the Deaf, the first such school in the world. He also tutored private students, including Helen Keller, who would later dedicate her autobiography to him.

In 1873 Alexander Graham Bell became a professor at Boston University. Around this time he me 15-year old Mabel Hubbard who had been deaf from birth, and who 5 years later became his wife.

Invention of the Telephone

From 1873 Bell worked on numerous inventions, including an electric speaking telegraph (the telephone), but he did not have the equipment, nor mechanical knowledge needed to continue his experiments.

The problem was resolved when in 1874, Bell met Thomas A. Watson – an experienced designer and mechanic, who agreed to make parts and who built models of Bell’s inventions. Together they built a telegraph that could send several messages at once over one wire as well as a telephonic-telegraphic receiver.

Both Bell and Watson knew that they had to work quickly as other scientists were also focusing on making a device able to transmit a human voice.

On February 14th, 1876 Bell applied for a patent on his telephone, beating Elisha Gray by several hours. Less than a month later one of the most valuable patents ever was issued, opening a new age in communications technology and allowing Bell to continue his work.

It is said that on March 10th, 1876 Bell accidentally knocked over battery acid that was being used as a transmitting liquid. Reacting to the spilled acid, Bell shouted “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you!”

Watson, working in the next room, heard Bell’s voice through the wire and quickly went to answer it. Ironically this became the first phrase ever transmitted over the telephone.

Western Union’s Biggest Mistake

In 1876 Bell and his partners, offered to sell the telephone patent to Western Union – the titan in the field of telegraphy for $100,000. The president of Western Union declined, considering the telephone to be 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. Unfortunately for him by then, the Bell Company no longer wanted to sell the patent.

Trying to make up for their mistake Western Union Telegraph Company hired two prominent inventors – Thomas A. Edison and Elisha Gray to develop their own telephone technology. Looking to protect its rights Bell Telephone Company (which would eventually become AT&T) sued Western Union and won.

In 1877 the first telephone was installed in a private home. The same year, while on his honeymoon in Europe, Bell showed his invention to Queen Victoria of England who then wanted lines to connect her castles.

In 1878, US president Rutherford B. Hayes ordered telephones installed in the White House and less than 30 years later nearly all of the United State had telephone service.

Immunity to Wealth and Dedication to Science

Bell was in his late thirties when he became one of the wealthiest and most influential people of his time. However, money and public acknowledgement did little to change Bell’s interests and lifestyle. Tired of his constant appearances in court due to legal battles, Bell resigned from the company and concentrated his efforts on making new inventions.

During his lifetime Bell received 18 patents that ranged from photophones to aerial vehicles to selenium cells, invented the gramophone, the audiometer (which helped to detect minor hearing problems) and built the first metal detector. He also anticipated modern concerns with fuel shortages and industrial pollution, finding alternative fuels and doing extensive research on how to separate salt  from seawater.

Eager to share his love for science and the natural world, Bell lent considerable financial support to such magazines as Science and National Geographic.

Upon Bell’s death on August 2nd, 1922, the nation’s phones stilled their ringing for a silent minute in tribute to the man whose yearning to communicate made them possible.

Alexander Graham Bell’s Quotes:

“A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with – a man is what he makes of himself.”

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”

“What this power is, I cannot say. All I know is that it exists…and it becomes available only when you are in that state of mind in which you know exactly what you want…and are fully determined not to quit until you get it.”

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”

“Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that