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Alexander Graham Bell's Birth
Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. To the parents Alexander Melville Bell and Eliza Grace Symonds Bell. His father was an expert in voice and speech. His mother was a mostly deaf pianist. This event is significant because Alexander Graham Bell would use the knowledge he learned from his father to invent the telephone. A way of communicating over long distances using voice. Source: (“Alexander Graham Bell…”) -
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Abraham Lincoln's Presidency
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From 1861-1865, Abraham Lincoln was in office as the 16th president of the United States of America. This is significant because during his presidency Abe Lincoln built up the Republican Political party. He also issued the Emancipation Proclamation to grant freedom to all slaves in the Confederation. Source: (Grun 424) -
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Civil War
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The American Civil war raged from 1861-1865 and ended with a Northern victory and the end to slavery in the United States. This is a significant event because it proved America is an indivisible nation where all men are equal. The Civil war is the most important war in American history because it defined us as a country. Source: (Grun 424) -
Gettysburg Address
“Four score and seven years ago…,” this is the beginning of the most memorable speech in American history. This speech is Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and it was delivered on November 19, 1863. This speech was significant because it represented the bloodiest battles of the civil war. It also commemorated all the lives that were lost there. Source: (Grun 426) -
Impeachment of Johnson
On February 24, 1868 Congress used its power of impeachment and impeached president Andrew Johnson. Johnson took over after President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865. As a democrat, Johnson constantly defied Congress and pushed them over the edge by dismissing one of his cabinet members. This is significant because it was the first time in history the House of Representatives impeached a sitting president. Source: (Grun 430) -
First Postcard
In 1869, Austria became the first country to publish postcards. Soon the General Postal union (later known as the United Postal Union) formed to discuss standard pricing and uniform cards that were exchanged between countries. This is significant because postcards became the best way to send friends and family a snapshot of one’s surroundings while traveling around the world. They are still used today for the same purposes. Source: (Grun 433) -
First International Soccer Game
On November 30, 1872 the first ever international soccer match was played. It was played in Scotland by the English and Scottish national teams and ended in a 0-0 tie. This game paved the road for the many many international soccer games as well as other international sporting events. Source: (Grun 435) -
Human Ear Model
In 1874 Alexander Graham Bell made a model of an instrument after the human ear. He envisioned two iron discs (equivalent to the ear drums) far apart and connected by a wire, the discs caught the vibrations of sound at one end, and then reproduced them. This is significant because this is when he first learned how to make sound travel through a wire. Source: (“The Bell Telegraph…”) -
Telephone Patent
On February 14, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell filed for a U.S. patent application for the experimental telephone he created with his business partners Gardner G. Hubbard and Thomas Sanders and his assistant Thomas Watson. This is significant because Bell would later receive the patent that gave him and only him the right to the telephone and telephone system. Without this patent he could not work on the telephone or could not have invented it. Source: (“Speech Transmitted by…”) -
First Intelligible Sentence
On March 10, 1876 Bell’s telephone worked for the first time when he uttered the words, “Watson come here, I need to see you.” Bell summoned his assistant from another room and his assistant, Thomas Watson, was able to understand and repeat what he heard. This is a significant event because it is the first time Bell’s telephone worked over a short distance. This will help him figure out how to get it to work over longer distances. Source: (Alfred) -
Centennial Exhibition
On June 25, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his Centennial Telephone at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the first time in public. This creates buzz at the Exhibition with the crowd. This is significant because it is the first public display of his invention and it is because of this he is able to win all legal battles between he and Elisha Gray over the patent. Source: (“Alexander Graham Bell’s…”) -
Bell Telephone Company
In 1877 the three men, Hubbard, Sanders, and Bell formed the Bell Telephone Company. The 3 men worked together to get Bell the patent and they took their successes and turned it into a company. This company helped Bell to profit from his inventions by licensing their telephone to people for commercial and eventually personal use. Source: (Hylander 136) -
Volta Award
In 1880 Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the French Volta prize for his telephone. He was also awarded money with his prize. This is significant because he used the money he won to set up the Volta Laboratory and continue his research. Source: (Hylander 137) -
AT&T
On March 3, 1885 the Bell Telephone Company created the American Telephone and Telegraph Company to handle long distance. This company is still in business today by the name AT&T. This is significant because the company grew from handling long distance to becoming a multi-billion-dollar corporation. Source: (McCormick 90) -
AAPTSD
In 1890 Alexander Graham Bell founded the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf. He also donated $300,000 to his association. Bell’s knowledge that he learned from his father helped him teach the deaf to speak and it also helped many students. Source: (McCormick 98) -
Alexander Graham Bell's Death
On August 2, 1922 Alexander Graham Bell passed away. He was at his house in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was ill for quite some time and also had some complications with his diabetes. This was the end to Bell’s new ideas for the telephone but not the end of the ideas for the telephone overall. Because of Bell we have instant access to everyone in the world no matter where we are. Source: (Hylander 139)
