Alexander Graham Bell

His Life...1876-1880

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Bell continued working on speech transmission mainly at his 5 Exeter Place residence, using the Gallows phone. At the same time, he worked on his patent applications (below is the application with drawings).

On February 14, 1876, Gardiner Hubbard filed Bell's work with the patent office. Surprisingly (suspiciously?) Elisha Gray filed a caveat (a filing showing the intent to apply for a patent at a later date) just hours after Bell's filings. A point of contention in the courts for several years, many still believe Gray (left) to be the real inventor of the telephone. Bell's patent was accepted on March 3, 1876. That patent #174,465 is one of the most valuable patents in history.

But why the speculation? First, Bell had made a notation--a clause--in the margin of his notes after his filing describing a "variable resistance" transmitter. Yet he never experimented with this method. Second, Gray's caveat included the description of a variable resistance transmitter using acidulated water. Within one month of Gray's caveat Bell was experimenting with the same transmitter!

With all the wild speculation one thing is clear. Gray was not actively experimenting on speech transmission at the same time Bell was. And simply put, Bell--regardless of the method he used--transmitted intelligible speech first. And it was on the evening of March 10, 1876 at 5 Exeter Place in Boston.

Bell had given Watson some new sketches of a different type of transmitter to be constructed. It was the "Liquid" transmitter (right) as it used acidulated water in a small cup in the bottom of the device. As Bell was connecting the transmitter he accidentally spilled a vat of battery acid on his pants. Quickly wiping it off, he yelled to Watson in another room "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you!" Watson burst into Bell's room and said "I heard every word!" And in the excitement, Bell forgot about the acid on his pants. The telephone was born.

Bell spent the next few months experimenting and improving his telephone. In June of 1876, Bell set up a small exhibit at the nation's Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The Emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro was in attendance. Dom Pedro was an acquaintance of Bell, meeting him at the Boston School for the Deaf. 

Apparently the judges were going to ignore Bell and his telephone. But Dom Pedro attracted their attention by going to the exhibit and greeting Bell. Bell gave Dom Pedro the receiver. As Dom Pedro listened to Bell recite Hamlet, Dom Pedro heard every word and exclaimed "My God, it talks!" The papers covered this historic event and the telephone was launched.

Bell spent the next year testing the phone under actual operation conditions and demonstrating it to audiences in and around Boston.

Perhaps disenchanted with the entire business, Gardiner Hubbard offered the patents to the Western Union Company in early 1877. In an incredible, historic blunder, Western Union refused them. On July 9, 1877, Bell, Watson, Hubbard and Sanders formed the Bell Telephone Company.

Bell married Mabel (left) on July 11, 1877. And with that Bell seemed to lose interest in the day to day dealings of the business and left on a 2 year honeymoon to England. While in England, Bell demonstrated his phone, including a demonstration to the Queen of England. Bell returned to Canada in October of 1879 to spend time with his parents. They had a new addition to the family: Elsie, who was born on May 9, 1879.

By 1880, Bell had tired of the telephone. At 33 years of age, Bell resigned from the company and decided to pursue what he enjoyed: inventing. And that is exactly what he did for the next forty years.  

A.G Bell 1847-1875                        A.G. Bell 1881-1922

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