SCIENTISTS (1847–1922); SCOTLAND

For most citizenry , the name Alexander Graham Bell bring up up the man who helped contrive the phone in 1876 . And while Bell was responsible for for radically changing how the world communicates , there was far more to his lifespan than just one design , both good and bad . Take a look at some of the lesser - known fact about the inventor who made it possible for us to continue connected .

1. Alexander Graham Bell’s inventions go beyond the telephone.

Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3 , 1847 , in Edinburgh , Scotland , and from a young age , he was primed for afuturein innovational thinking . His forefather and grandfather , after whom he was named , were experts in voice and elocution , and his female parent , Eliza , was a talented pianist . As the family relocated to London , Canada , and the United States , Bell pursued solvent to everyday problems through his inventions . Among some of his more renowned inventions :

2. Alexander Graham Bell wasn’t the only person to pursue the idea of a telephone.

Because of his family ’s account with voice and speech education — his female parent was also deaf — Bell was alwaysintriguedby ways of communicating via alternative means . His harmonic telegraph in 1871 could transmit multiple messages over a wire at once . Soon , Bell wanted to see if he could transmit a voice instead . With the help of investor and linesman Thomas Watson , he was successful in originate a receiver that turn electrical energy into audio . But other artificer like Antonio Meucci and Elisha Gray had like ideas . In the end , Bell was the first to the patent of invention office and the first to make a earphone call — to Watson . He also ushered in the Bell Telephone Company in 1877 . As a result , his is the name most nearly identified with the find . Roughly 550 challenge to his phone letters patent were at last unsuccessful .

3. Alexander Graham Bell invented more than one way to communicate.

While Alexander Graham Bell ’s legacy will forever and a day be tie to the telephone set , he never break off attempt to devise ways to transmit data . His “ photophone , ” devise in concert with assistant Charles Sumner Tainter , couldtransmitsound via a beam of light . Bell used a selenium crystal and a mirror that vibrated in answer to sound . Bell and Tainter had success sending a subject matter 200 yard using this method in 1881 . The achievement is thought to have anticipated the fiber - optic communication system we use today .

4. Alexander Graham Bell wasn’t necessarily the biggest fan of the telephone.

Despite Bell ’s breakthrough , he was not one to mollycoddle in its ease of communicating . Reportedly , Bell refused to keep a telephony in his employment written report because he was afraid it would impact his productiveness , according toHistory.com .

5. Alexander Graham Bell had a controversial interest in eugenics.

give his work on behalf of the indifferent community , Bell was curiously blithe about expressing an interestingness in eugenics , advocatingfor selective education that could potentially exclude diseases and disability . He also speak outagainstimmigration . In 1921 , Bell was even call honorary President of the United States of the Second International Congress of Eugenics .

6. Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison made each other better.

While Bell get most of the credit for the telephony , it was fellow discoverer Thomas Edison whomodifiedthe sender for it in 1877 , which provide gain and made the gadget easier to use . ( Inventor Emile Berliner come up with asimilardevice around roughly the same time . ) Likewise , Bell was able to meliorate on an innovation of Edison ’s . After Edison cook up the phonograph in 1877 , using tin can foil as the recording medium , it was Bell who came up with the more practical wax recording cylinder nine long time after .

7. Alexander Graham Bell’s death in 1922 was honored with a special tribute.

Alexander Graham Belldiedon August 2 , 1922 , at age 75 as a answer of complications from diabetes . On the sidereal day of his burial , all telephone service in the United States wentsilentfor one second as a tribute to just how important Bell ’s contributions had been .

Famous Alexander Graham Bell Quotes:

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Alexander Graham Bell with teachers and students from the Scott Circle School for deaf children in Washington, D.C.

Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates the telephone in this illustration.

An illustration of Alexander Graham Bell’s photophone.

A drawing of a telephone from Alexander Graham Bell’s original patent from March 1876.

Alexander Graham Bell makes the first phone call between New York and Chicago.

An illustration of Thomas Edison’s telephone transmitter.

The Bell Telephone Memorial in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.