Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Bell was a teacher and an inventor. Alexander Graham Bell was born in Scotland in 1847. Bell and his parents moved to Canada in 1870. They lived near Brantford, Ontario. In 1871, Alexander Graham Bell went to Boston to teach deaf students. Bell fell in love with one of his students. Her name was Mabel Hubbard. The couple got married in 1877.

Alexander Graham Bell was also a scientist. He was interested in speech and sound. He invented the telephone when he was 29 years old.

Bell worked on the first telephone in Ontario and in Boston. He hired a machinist to help him. His name was Thomas Watson. On March 10, 1876, Bell and Watson were testing the telephone. Bell was in one room. Watson was in another room. Bell had an accident. He spilled acid on his clothes. He yelled, "Mister Watson. Come here. I want you". Watson heard Bell over the telephone. It was the first telephone call.

Bell moved to Washington DC in 1879. He became a citizen of the United States in 1882. The Bells bought land in Nova Scotia in 1886. They spent summers there. Bell did many experiments in Nova Scotia. For example:
1. He helped to build some of the first airplanes in Canada.
2. He invented a machine to help people breathe.
3. He helped to build boats that could travel on top of water.

Alexander Graham Bell died in 1922 in Nova Scotia. There is a national historic site near his summer home. Many people visit the site every year.

Background Information

Alexander Graham Bell invented something that most of us could not live without today. Talk about what you know about his invention and what you might know about his life.

Questions

1. Where was Alexander Graham Bell born?

2. When did he and his parents move to Canada?

3. Where did Bell teach?

4. Why do you think he taught at that school?

5. What is a scientist?

6. What was he interested in?

7. How old was he when he invented the telephone?

8. What does the word hire mean?

9. What happened during the first telephone call?

10. What is acid?

11. Why do you think Bell became a citizen of the USA?

12. What else did Bell invent?