Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) (1713)

Alexander Graham Bell's family were no strangers to the communicative arts. His grandfather was a well-known elocutionist and actor in Edinburgh, where the younger Alexander was born on March 3, 1847. Bell's father gained a worldwide reputation as a teacher of correct speech and lecturer on education. Alec's mother was a musician and a portrait painter, and her son was born with such a talent for music that from infancy he could play by ear and improvise by piano.

In 1870 the family moved to North America and settled in Canada. Later Alexander went to Boston, where he opened a School of Vocal Physiology for teachers of the deaf and became professor at Boston University. His job brought him into contact with the scientific minds of the city. Furthermore he began the electrical experiments which resulted in his invention of the telephone.

In his laboratory notebook Alexander recorded the description of the most important experiment in his life. He leaned over transmitter connected to a reed receiver that his assistant, Thomas Watson (in another room at the far end of an entry hall with two intervening doors), pressed against his ear. Alexander shouted into the mouthpiece: "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you". To his delight his assistant came and declared that he had heard and understood what Bell said. Bell asked him to repeat the words. He answered, "You said: Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you". They then changed places and Bell listened at the reed receiver while Mr. Watson read a few passages from a book into the mouthpiece. The words came clearly and intelligibly.

On April 4, 1877, the first true telephone line was established between Somerville, Massachusetts and Boston, the distance of about three miles. Bell got many prizes for his invention, among which was the James Watt silver medal in England and the Volta Prize by the French Government. His fellow inventor Thomas Edison spoke of him as "the friend whose world-famed invention annihilated time and space, and brought the human family in closer touch".

Check your comprehension.

1. When and where was Alexander Bell born? 2. What family was he born to? 3. What talent did he have in his childhood? 4. Where did the family move to? 5. Why did Alexander go to Boston? 6. What new experiments did Bell begin at that time? 7. How did he record his experiment in the laboratory notebook? 8. When was the telephone line established? 9. How long was the first telephone line? 10. What did Thomas Edison speak about his friend?

***

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) (2070)	\|	Robert Goddard – the Father of Space Age (1733)

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.005 сек.