A HISTORY OF

Alexander Graham Bell

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Contents
Introduction Early years Telephone time line Post telephone development Famous quotes Source list

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Introduction
Alexander Graham Bells birthday is March 3rd (he was born in 1847) and the granting of the very first telephone patent on March 7th 1876, which he was largely responsible has brought about a series of change ever since.
In celebration of his birthday and the first patent, March is known much for its looking back at Alexander Graham Bell and this presentation contributes to this by looking at the history of this great inventor and game changer.

Early years
Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh Scotland on the 3rd of March 1847. United Kingdom He studied in both Edinburgh and London where he showed keen interest in his father and grandfathers area of interest: language and elocution of speech. At age 16 he started looking into mechanics of speech, fascinated by the way people spoke and why they spoke in specific ways. Canada He relocated with his family to Canada after some time in the UK in 1870 where he initiated and launched a system of visible speaking developed by his father- where mute and deaf children how to speak with signs. United States In 1872 Bell founded a school in Boston, to improve teaching the deaf, by setting up training for teachers of the deaf. The school became a sector of Boston University and Alexander Graham Bell was appointed professor of vocal physiology in 1873 for his contributions to the development of special learning in the area. After just 12 years in the United States of America, he became a U.S. citizen in 1882.

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Running up to the telephone

Bell had long been fascinated by the idea of transmitting

speech, and by 1875 had come up with a simple receiver that could turn electricity into sound. Others were working along the same lines, including an Italian-American Antonio Meucci, and debate continues as to who should be credited with inventing the telephone.
However, Bell was granted a patent for the telephone on 7 March 1876 and it developed quickly. Within a year the first telephone exchange was built in Connecticut and the Bell Telephone Company was created in 1877, with Bell the owner of a third of the shares, quickly making him a wealthy man.
BBC Histories

The telephone time line

After Alexander Graham Bell was granted the telephone patent in 1876, the telephone went onto form one of the most researched technological developments in history. The Plusnet Community blog has a list of the most significant dates mentioned in their post on Broadband and phone - a look at Bell, the telephone and how far we've come: 1876: The telephone patent was granted to Alexander Bell, who made the worlds first telephone call to his assistant, Thomas Watson. The pair celebrated by doing a victory dance in their rented rooms, leading their landlady to threaten them with eviction. 1877: The construction of the worlds first telephone line (between Boston and Massachusetts) was completed. The first switchboard was set up (in Boston). 1878: Bell set up his first telephone company, now known as AT&T. The first telephone book was published by the New Haven District Telephone Company. The first telephone was installed in the White House by the President Rutherford B. Hayes administration. The first outgoing call from the White House went to Alexander Bell, who was told by the President to speak more slowly.

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Telephone time line continued

1880: By the end of this year, there were 47,900 telephones in the USA. Bell developed the Photophone establishing himself as the father of fibre optic communication. 1882: The patent for the first telephone switchboard was granted to Leroy Firman. 1886: The first Yellow Pages directory was published. 1889: The patent for the first coin-operated pay phone was granted to William Gray. 1937: The first long distance phone lines were laid underground, instead of being strung between poles. 1941: The first Touch Tone phone was installed. 1947: Research into mobile phone technology began. 1951: Direct dialling was first trialled in Englewood, New Jersey. 1964: The videotelephone was put into service for the first time between New York, Washington and Chicago. It was not well used or received.
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Telephone time line continued

1970s: The first cordless phones were introduced. 1970: Optical fibre was successfully developed by Corning Glass Works, 90 years after Bell invented the Photo phone. 1971: The patent for the first computerised telephone exchange was granted to Erna Schneider Hoover of Bell Labs. 1977: General Telephone and Electronics sent the first live telephone traffic through fibre optic cabling. 1982: The patent for Caller ID was granted to Carolyn Doughty of Bell Labs. 1991: The World Wide Web was invented 2004: VOIP calls were introduced to the mass market and phone and broadband packages are introduced to deal with the high demand for high speed communication platforms.
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Post telephone development

was awarded the French his invention In 1880, Bell money, founded the Volta Volta Prize forWashington, and with the Laboratory in where he continued experiments in communication, in medical research, and in techniques for teaching speech to the deaf, working with Helen Keller among others. In 1885 he acquired land in Nova Scotia and established a summer home there where he continued experiments, particularly in the field of aviation. In 1888, Bell was one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society, and served as its president from 1896 to 1904, also helping to establish its journal. Bell died on 2 August 1922 at his home in Nova Scotia.

BBC Histories

Famous quotes by Alexander Graham Bell

A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is

born with - a man is what he makes of himself. Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds. I may be given credit for having blazed the trail, but when I look at the subsequent developments I feel the credit is due to others rather than to myself. When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.
Brainy Quote

Source List
For original images and credits please visit on line source

homes by clicking on captions below images (at time of publishing, all images were known to be CC with right to re-use) For quoted sources please click through to original pages where information was quoted from: 1. BBC Histories 2. Broadband and phone - a look at Bell, the telephone and how far we've come