On March 3rd, 1847, Eliza Grace Symonds gave birth to Alexander Graham Bell in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. This boy would grow up and move onto be arguably one of the most well known inventors of all time. At age 11, he was sent to the Royal Highschool at Edinburgh, and at 15, left school without obtaining a diploma. In June of 1868, Bell passed the entrance exams and enrolled in University College London in the fall. Once more, he didn’t finish his studies and in 1870 the family moved to Canada. In 1871, Bell decided to move to Boston. Once in Boston, Bell taught at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes. (His mother was deaf) Bell married one of his students, Mabel Hubbard, in 1877. They had four children, two of which died in infancy. While pursuing his passion for teaching, Bell researched telegraph methods. In 1868, when the duplex was invented, other inventors (Elisha Gray being among them) sought out methods for the quadruplex.
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A group of investors wanted to found a telegraph company, but Bell wanted to focus on communication with the human voice. Gardiner Hubbard, (one of the lead investors) saw promise in Bell’s research of the human voice and decided to support his experiments, as long as he also devoted time to the harmonic telegraph. On February 14th, 1876, Bell filed his patent and after a legal battle ensued, finally won the rights for the telephone. However, even though he had the patent, he didn’t have the actual instrument itself. Over the following months, Bell and his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, improved and corrected the telephone so it would be ready for use in public. In August, the first long distance call was made from Brantford to Paris, Ontario. (Bell was on the receiving end) In July of 1877, Gardiner Hubbard wanted to commercialize the telephone. The Bell Telephone Company was founded and Bell was the technical adviser until the early 1880s.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Alexander Graham Bell and Mabel Hubbard, Nova Scotia
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In 1880, Bell won the Volta Prize, an award for achievements in the electrical science field. Bell used his prize money to establish his Volta Laboratory, where the objective was to study deafness and help deaf people in Washington, D.C. In 1885, Bell and his colleagues invented a device called the Graphophone. (It was meant for commercial use and featured mineral wax) They applied for patents, and in 1887, they sold their patents to the American Graphophone Company. (Later the Columbia Phonograph Company) Bell was also a part of two other research projects. (One of which contributed to the research of the photovoltaic effect which had more use in the 20th century.) In 1885, Bell vacationed with his family in Nova Scotia and moved there soon after. In 1907, Bell founded the Aerial Experiment Association and in 1922, he died in his estate in Nova Scotia.
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