Alexander Graham Bell – (1847 – 1922) – Inventor / Scientist
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent Scottish born scientist, inventor and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone.
In 1875, Bell developed an acoustic telegraph and drew up a patent application for it. Since he had agreed to share US profits with his
investors, Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders, he had an associate attempt to patent it in Britain, instructing his lawyers to patent
it in the US only after they received word from Britain. (Britain would only issue patents for discoveries not previously patented
elsewhere.
Excerpts from Elisha Gray's patent caveat of 14 February and Alexander Graham Bell's lab notebook entry of 8 March, demonstrating
their surprising similarity. Meanwhile, Elisha Gray was also experimenting with acoustic telegraphy and thought of a way to transmit
speech using a water transmitter. On 14 February 1876, Gray filed a caveat with the U.S. Patent Office for a telephone design that
used a water transmitter. That same morning, Bell's lawyer filed Bell's application with the patent office. There is considerable
debate about who arrived first and Gray later challenged the primacy of Bell's patent. Bell was in Boston on 14 February 1876.
Historical / Biographical information courtesy of Wikipedia.
