This Day in History: March 7, 2011

Today, we cannot even imagine living without telephones. I thought it interesting to remember Alexander Bell, who in the year 1876 on March 7, introduced the talking machine to the world. Although there is a controversy about who invented the early telephone, Alexander Graham Bell has been most often credited because he submitted the first patent for an “apparatus for transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically".

The modern telephone and especially cell phones are the result of the work of many people who deserve to be recognized otherwise.

Mr. Bell was only 29 in 1876. One year later, he started the Bell Telephone Company and married Mabel Hubbard. Like many other inventors, he was a driven man, and continued to work in his laboratory, inspiring many other young scientists to work with him.

Bell, working together with Thomas Watson, basically improved on the existing telegraph system, using electricity for transmission. The first famous words transmitted were: Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you. Mr. Watson continued to work for the Bell Telephone Company until 1881, and then sought out other ventures.