Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell was much like any other person except in his thirst for knowledge. Bell constantly sought to learn and explore the world around him. Communication and speech compelled and monopolized Bell’s thoughts. Throughout his lifetime, he invented a plethora of things. His inventions ranged from a machine that removed husks from wheat to the telephone. In his lifetime, Bell experienced numerous hardships and losses, but he continued to fight past them in a pursuit of knowledge and betterment of society.
Alexander Melvil Bell bore Alexander Graham Bell as his second son. Alexander Graham Bell entered the world on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the second of three children. His older brother was Mell, and his younger brother was named Edward. Graham’s mother, who was completely deaf, pricked Bell’s interest in understanding sound and speech. An interest in communicating with his deaf mother, prompted Alexander to pursue an understanding of the intricacies of deafness and speech. Alexander attended traditional school for five years. During his high school years, he attended Edinburg high school. Most of Bell’s education took place at home. Tragedy struck the Bell family in the form of illness. Both of his brothers died of tuberculosis, and his parents forced him to leave London and move with them to Brantford, Ontario. Bell, too, contracted tuberculosis and they believed the air in Brantford was cleaner for his lungs and would improve his health. Two years upon arriving to Canada, Bell moved yet again. This time he moved to Boston, Massachusetts. When he arrived in Boston, he took a job as teacher of the deaf at Boston University. Alexander believed that sign language demeaned the deaf. Instead, he taught them in his own way without the use of sign language. During his time as at teacher, Bell spent many sleepless nights working on several inventions, which would change the world. While Bell taught at Boston University, he met Mabel Hubbard. At that time, she was one of his students. Mabell, who was two years younger than he, lost her hearing as a result of the starlet fever. Five years after meeting, on July 11, they wed. They bore two sons and two daughters. Tragically, both of their sons die at an early age. The boys died because they were born prematurely, and their lungs simply were not strong enough to support them. After their death and mourning, Bell resumed inventing.
Alexander Bell did not limit his inventions to those, which benefited the deaf. The telephone stands as one of his most infamous. In Bells attempt to build the telephone, Tomas A. Watson assisted the famous inventor. Bell found his inspiration to build the phone after hearing a wire on the telegraph vibrate. He believed this proved sound and voices could be transmitted in the same way. After working together for one year and for many sleepless nights, Bell and Watson invented the telephone. The first words still ring as clearly today as on March 10, 1876, “ Watson! Come here I want you!” Bell had succeeded. Later that day, he applied for a patent. The telephone was patented as number 174,464. Truly, inventors raced to success. Only an hour later, another man came to patent his telephone, but Bell had beaten him to it. Showing off their new invention, Bell and Watson toured the northeast demonstrating how it worked. They introduced the world to the phone at the Central Exhibition in Philadelphia. People came from all over to see it. It was a hit. Ruford B. Hays, the first president to have a telephone, made his first call to none other than