Dr. Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Graham Bell March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922

Parents: Alexander Bell and Eliza Grace Symonds

Wife: Mabel Gardiner Hubbard 1858-1923

Children:

• Elsie May Grosvenor (Bell) 1878-1964
• Marian Bell

Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone.

Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876. In retrospect, Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.

Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils and aeronautics. In 1888, Alexander Graham Bell became one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society.

Alexander Graham Bell was featured on a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1940.

Bell House in Colonial Beach, Virginia was a summer home of Alexander Graham Bell. It was built in 1883 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_on_stamps_of_the_United...
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell
• http://nationalaviation.org/bell-alexander/

from Semi-centennial History, by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company:

Alexander Graham, the first person to be elected Vice-President, was born in Utica, New York, April 6, 1816, of Scotch and German ancestry; received an academic education in New York; in 1841 married Abigail M. Keep, sister of Judge John M. Keep. one of the incorporators of the company; held many positions of trust in New York State; lived at Whitewater in 1858, and shortly thereafter moved to Janesville; being declared ineligible for war duty on account of age, he furnished a substitute at his own expense who served through the war; was several times in the legislature from Janesville, and in 1872, introduced the so-called Graham bill, to "provide against the evils of intoxicating drinks." He died May 1, 1895