Alexander Graham Bell Inventions

When was the last time that you held a telephone in your hand? It seems that most of us are almost permanently attached to this modern convenience. The ability to communicate with other individuals through the telephone is the most well-known of the Alexander Graham Bell inventions. Believe it or not, however, he was not necessarily looking for a way to communicate with other individuals in this manner. As a matter of fact, he considered the telephone to be a nuisance and refused to have one in his study. Not only that, the telephone was only one of the Graham Bell inventions that came into existence. How many of his other inventions are you familiar with?

Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburg Scotland on March 3, 1847. Both his mother and his wife were deaf and this had an influence on his life's work that affects most of us in some way or another today. His real interest was in improving the way that we communicate and with hearing devices but this eventually gave way to the birth of the telephone. He was awarded a US patent in connection with the telephone in 1876.

The fact is, there were 18 different Alexander Graham Bell inventions which were patented by himself alone and some 21 which were co-patented with other individuals. It has often been said that necessity is the mother of invention and this became a very true statement in connection with the assassination of US President James Garfield. In an attempt to locate the bullet that was lodged in his body, Graham Bell invented a device for locating it. Although it did not work in saving the president's life, partly as a result of the fact that he was lying on a metal spring mattress, it did give birth to a rather unique invention that is still enjoyed today, the metal detector.

Another of the Alexander Graham Bell inventions that most of us are not familiar with is the photophone. This particular contraption allowed sound to travel on the beam of light. At one time, Bell was able to transmit a message from one building to another at a distance of some 200 yards. Although he considered this to be the greatest of his inventions, history would still remember the telephone above all others. Even so, the photophone gave rise to some of the principles that are behind fiber-optic systems.

Eventually, there would be no further Alexander Graham Bell inventions as he would pass away at the age of 75 on August 2, 1922. In response to his death, all telephones were silenced in the United States for one minute. So, the next time you pick up the telephone and talk to somebody from across the country or around the world, remember that you have this man to thank.