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SCIENCE HERO:
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL
by Eric from Montreal

Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. After he finished his education at the University of London he moved to the United States and founded a school for the deaf and the mute in Boston, Massachusetts in 1872.

Bell with the telephone
He had an interest in transmitting speech since the age of eighteen. He developed the basic idea for the telephone while working on a multiple telegraph. His attempts were successful. On March 10, 1876 when he transmitted the first message to his assistant Thomas Watson, he said "Watson come here; I want you." Because of his amazing invention he was awarded the Volta Prize and used the money from it to build the Volta Laboratory where he made the photo phone, the audiometer and the wax-recording cylinder.

Portrait of Bell
Bell's interest changed to aeronautics. At first he made large kites and eventually made a kite that could lift a person. He then made the three-wheel landing gear for planes. After this he started making hydrofoil boats. In 1917 he made the full sized ‘Hydrodrome’, which reached speeds of 70 mph and was the fastest boat in the world for some time. He died on August 2, 1922 at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada where there is a museum that keeps his original inventions.

Alexander Graham Bell is my hero because he changed the way that people communicate. If he hadn’t invented the telephone the only way to communicate over long distances would be through mail. His invention changed my life and the life of many by allowing us to talk with friends and family. You can talk over a distance with ease. He is a true hero, he has made the world what it is today in terms of communication. This concludes my biography on Alexander Graham Bell.

Written by Eric from Montreal


RELATED LINKS

Library of Congress houses the online version of the Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers.

The Franklin Institute - Resources for Higher Learning Read more about Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone.

PBS.org features inventor Alexander Graham Bell and includes a biography, timeline, and lesson plan for teachers.


 
RECOMMENDED READING

Alexander Graham Bell: An Inventive Life
by Elizabeth MacLeod
Time For Kids: Alexander Graham Bell
by HarperCollins Childrens, John Micklos (Editor), John Micklos (With)

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Last changed on:10/26/2003