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Today we're going to learn about the famous inventor, Alexander Graham Bell.
Alexander Graham Bell, best known for his invention of the telephone, was born on March
3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Young Alexander, called 'Aleck' by his family, was a curious
child who was very interested in the science of sound. He loved music, and taught himself
to play the piano. His father taught elocution, or how to speak clearly and correctly. When
he was a teenager, his mother began to lose her hearing, and that encouraged him to learn
even more about sound.
At the age of twelve, Aleck created his first invention. His best friend's family operated
a flour mill. At the time, it took a lot of work to remove the husks from the wheat, but
with some paddles and brushes, Alexander Graham Bell invented a dehusking machine that made
the job much simpler. In return, his friend's father gave him a small workshop to experiment
with his inventions.
Although he was homeschooled as a child, Alexander attended high school in Edinburgh. He didn't
do very well in school, and left before he finished it. Afterward, he went to live with
his grandfather in London. His grandfather encouraged him and helped him gain an appreciation
for learning, and soon after, Bell began teaching elocution like his father, and helping deaf
people to learn to speak.
By 1870, when Bell was 23, both of his brothers had died from a disease called tuberculosis.
Alexander was sick, too, and his parents were very worried that he would also die. They
moved to Canada. They thought the air there was healthier than the air in London.
During his time in Canada, Bell got well again, and in 1871, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts.
He began spending less of his time teaching and more time inventing. He experimented with
a telegraph that could send more than one message at once by using different sound frequencies,
and while he was working on that, he started to believe that he could invent a way to send
the human voice over wires.
Bell did not have much success with this invention until 1874, when he met Thomas Watson, an
electrical designer and mechanic, who helped him with his work.
On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell got his telephone to work. He said, "Mr. Watson,
come here -- I want to see you." Thomas Watson, who was in another room, heard Bell's voice
and came to see. The telephone had worked!
Less than six months later, telephone demonstrations were being given while curious people stood
by, amazed to hear voices from people a few miles away come out of Bell's invention. Soon,
thousands and thousands of people owned telephones.
After the success of his invention, Alexander Graham Bell got married and had a family.
Although he is best known for the invention of the telephone, he invented many other things
throughout his life, including the metal detector, a wireless telephone that transmitted a signal
with light, a device to detect icebergs, an invention to detect problems with someone's
hearing, and more.
In 1915, Bell made the first transcontinental phone call. While he was in New York, he talked
to his old assistant Thomas Watson, who was in San Fransico, and they heard each other
much more clearly than they did during the first phone call in 1876.
On August 2, 1922, at the age of 75, Alexander Graham Bell died at his home in Nova Scotia,
Canada. When he died, every phone in North America was turned off and silent in his honor.
I hope you enjoyed learning about Alexander Graham Bell today. Goodbye till next time!