Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone in 1876 began the era of communication and the evolution of the telephone. Other people of the 20th century have continued Bell’s work and have improved the telephone.
Alexander Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Growing up as a young boy, Alexander was curious about how sound was created. In his later years after college, Alexander became a teacher to deaf and dumb people. While teaching, he thought of an idea. In the Neumann Press book “Challenge of Freedom”, it says, “Alexander Bell thought that if signals could be sent by electricity, then the actual sound of words over wires charged with electricity should be possible.” After becoming so into this idea, he dropped his job as a teacher and experimented full time.
Although he had a great and brilliant idea, Alexander faced many problems. He needed some sort of steady current of electricity. Second, he had to figure out how he was going to send the sound waves of the speakers’ voice. Finally and foremost, money was necessary for his experiments. Without money, he couldn’t supply himself with the materials he needed.
After many years of experimenting, Bell finally one day had a break, and sent this message to his assistant, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.” Watson was overjoyed and raced up the stairs to tell Alexander the information. In “Challenge of Freedom”, it says, “together the two men labored to improve the invention. Finally after years of hard work, they succeeded in making an instrument that transmitted words very clearly and distinctly.”
In 1876, a big event happened in Philadelphia to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Bell showed his invention at the party and a couple people noticed it but didn’t say anything. Don Pedro, the Emperor of Brazil, came in to where the telephone was being exhibited and looked at it. Knowing Bell’s work with the deaf, he tried it out. After hearing Bell speak into the other end, Don Pedro exclaimed, “It talks!” Everyone around Pedro looked at the telephone in amazement. After a couple of days the telephone news was everywhere. News reporters posted articles on it in their newspaper columns. Even though it was not publicly used yet, Bell knew his invention was a success.
Many innovators improved Bell’s telephone in the 20th century. In Challenge of Freedom it says, “transmitters and receivers were made to carry the voice more distinctly, a way was found of sending more than one message over a wire at the same time, automatic switchboards were invented, and long-distance calls were made possible.”
It was not until the turn of the century that the telephone was in most American homes. Before, it was a very unique and prized device that only some people had. Even though telephones are all over the world, most of them are set up in the United States. Today our telephones range from a flip phone to a smart phone with a touch screen. It’s incredible that the telephone went from a little device that Bell blew into to ones that we even wear on our wrist! Alexander Bell was a very creative person and changed the world through his invention. He was one of few inventors that lived long enough to see the success of his work.
