BELL, Alexander Graham, American scientist, inventor of the telephone: b. Edin burgh, Scotland, 3 March 1847. He was a son of Alexander M. Bell (q.v.), and was taught at home by his parents, more especially by his mother, whose musical talent he inherited, and by August Benoit Bertini, a musical authority and composer. He entered McLauren's Acad emy in Edinburgh and, a year later, the Royal High School, graduating shortly after his 13th birthday. Then he went to London and re ceived instruction in elocution and the mech anism of speech from his grandfather, Alex ander Bell (b. 1790; d. 1865), a recognized authority on these subjects. Returning home, he was further trained along the same lines by his father, with a view to following the family profession. Was then employed during a year as pupil-teacher at Weston-House Acad emy, Elgin, Scotland, after which he entered the University of Edinburgh and attended lec tures upon Latin under Doctor Sellers and upon Greek under Professor Blakie. Then he re turned to Elgin as resident master and teacher of elocution and music, and remained two years. Was instructor in Somersetshire Col lege, Bath, England, during a year, then be came assistant to his father in London (the latter having removed there and received the appointment of lecturer on elocution in Uni versity College). In 1868 he taught several deaf-born children to speak, and from July to December had entire charge of his father's professional affairs, including the giving of lessons and lectures at the different schools and the correcting of defects in speech, while the father was delivering lectures in America. Early the next year he was taken into partner ship with his father. During 1868-70 he at tended courses on anatomy and physiology at University College, London, joined the college medical society and matriculated as an under graduate at the London University. Owing to the death of two of his sons by tuberculosis and the fear that his only remaining son might fall a victim, Graham's father resigned his lec tureships disposed of his practice in London and, with his family, moved to Canada and secured a country place at Tutelo Heights, near Brantford, Ontario. Through living out-of
doors as much as possible, Graham Bell re gained his health.
Beginning 1 April 1871, Alexander Graham Bell gave special instruction to teachers of deaf children in the use of his father's physio logical symbols of visible speech in Boston and Northampton, Mass., Hartford, Conn., and other cities. In 1872 he opened in Boston a normal training school, known as the School of Vocal Physiology, for teachers of the deaf and for instruction in the mechanism of speech, faults of speech, etc. In 1873 he was appointed professor of vocal physiology in the school of oratory of the Boston University. Here he remained until 1877, when he went abroad to lecture on the telephone. Before he was 17 years of age he devised a method for removing the husks from wheat, and he and his brother made a speaking automaton. Among the more important inventions are the harmonic multiple telegraph (1874) ; the fundamental method that underlies the electric transmission of speech in any form in any part of the world (1875) ; the magneto-electric speaking-telephone (1875) ; the photophone for transmitting speech and other sounds to a distance by means of a beam of light (1880) ; an induction-balance with magneto-electric telephone for painlessly locat ing bullets or other metallic' masses lodged in the human body (1881); the telephone probe to determine the position and depth of metal lic masses in the human body (18.81) ; the spec trophone for determining the range of audi bility of different substances in the spectrum 1881); joint inventor of the graphophone and flat disc records for recording and reproducing speech, music and other sounds, "the commercial origin of the sound-repro ducing art" (1884-86) ; tetrahedral kites and kite structures (1903) ; joint inventor in a number of improvements designed to pro mote aerial locomotion in connection with the Aerial Experiment Association (1903-08).