ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (1847-1922)
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                            ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

(1847-1922)

Alexander was born on the 3rd of March, 1847. He entered Edinburgh University and became a teacher. But later he changed his mind and decided to become a doctor and entered the Medical Department of London University. For two years he was a student of Ludwig Helmholtz. This was a German scientist, a member of St. Petersburg Academy of Science. This outstanding man wrote many works on physics, physiology and psychology. It was him who studied many important physical processes. Helmholtz also wrote basic works on physiology of sight and ear. Bell began to study the human organs of articulation under his guidance.

In 1871 Bell left for Canada and then for America, where he started a teacher-training college for those who wanted to teach the deaf. By artd by Bell came to the idea of importance of listening to the sounds for the possibility of speaking. He decided to create a special apparatus which would help the deaf to pronounce the sounds of speech and to learn to speak. Working on such an apparatus, Bell invented microphone (with engineer Thomas Watson) and telephone.

The first telephone conversation took place on the 10th of March, 1876 between Bell and his colleague Thomas Watson. For Bell it was a great victory.

At first the invention was not popular with the public, but Bell with his energy organised a wide campagne. He visited American towns and other countries, read lectures and demonstrated his telephone. In 1878 he also organised his own company to produce and introduce telephones. For many years this enterprise was one of the largest.

The first to appreciate this wonderful apparatus were the newspapermen who could now transmit their news right to the papers. It was much quicker than the previous method of sending them via telegraph. The first report was sent in February, 1877.

But Bell was not interested in business itself. In 1892 he gave up working on his telephone and used his money on the laboratories for generating new ideas. In 1989 Bell was elected the President of the National Geographic Society. As a teacher, he understood the importance of seeing in the process of learning, that's why he established a new journal, which still bears the title Bell gave to it - the National Geographic. Now it is the most popular journal about Nature with the best quality pictures.

The life of Bell was a life of a man to whom science was above money. He was and is greatly respected both in England and America.