Alexander Graham Bell and the Telephone »

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell uttered the words that would inaugurate a new era in human communication: "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." Bell was speaking through his new invention: the telephone. Although his name is the first to be associated with this now ubiquitous device, Bell did not work in a vacuum or entirely on his own. The second half of the nineteenth century was a time of great innovation. Many people experimented with various designs for machines to enable human communication over great distances. Bell simply was the first to win a patent. Alexander Graham Bell and the Telephone tells the story of the man who invented the telephone, the people who helped him, and the changes that came about because of one of the greatest inventions of all time.

1 School's Out 1

2 Bridging the Great Divide 4

3 The Power of Family 11

4 The Lure of America 22

5 Memorable Meetings 30

6 Breakthrough 41

7 Philadelphia 52

8 Courtrooms and Boardrooms 61

9 Social and Economic Change 71

10 The Man, the Invention, the Company 88

Chronology and Timeline 100

Notes 104

Bibliography 106

Further Reading 108

Index 110