Alexander Graham Bell

“America is a country of inventors, and the greatest of inventors are the newspaper men.”

Alexander Graham Bell

Biography for Alexander Graham Bell

  • Known For: Inventor of the telephone
  • Born: March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Parents: Alexander Melville Bell, Eliza Grace Symonds Bell
  • Education: University of Edinburgh (1864), University College London (1868)
  • Awards and Honors: Albert Medal (1902), John Fritz Medal (1907), Elliott Cresson Medal (1912)
  • Spouse: Mabel Hubbard
  • Children: Elsie May, Marian Hubbard, Edward, Robert
  • Died: August 2, 1922 in Nova Scotia, Canada

Did You Know?

Alexander’s mother, who was deaf, was a profound influence on him. He later founded the American Association to Promote Teaching of Speech to the Deaf in 1890.

At his core, Bell was an inventor and loved intellectual pursuits. He didn’t care for the business aspect of his growing telecommunications empire.

After the invention of the telephone, Bell went on to create several flying machines and boats called hydrofoils.

Alexander Graham Bell Phones

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

Alexander Graham Bell

United States Patent Office Dec. 13th, 1881… Patent number: 250,7o4 Speaking Telephone

United States Patent Office March 15th, 1881… Patent Number: 238,833 Electric Call Bell

Speaking Telephone Sketch March 19th, 1878… Patent Number: 201,488

Electric Telephone Transmitter Sketch March 15th, 1881… Patent Number: 238833

Photophonic Receiver Sketch May 24th,1881… Patent Number: 241,909

Telephone Circuit Sketch June 6th, 1876… Patent Number: 178,399

Telegraphy Sketch March 7th,1876… Patent Number: 174,465

“Don’t keep forever on the public road, going only where others have gone. Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. You’ll be certain to find something you have never seen before.”

Alexander Graham Bell