Archival Anecdotes: Does this ring a bell?

Perhaps the single most influential name in the development of communication technology is Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Bell's mother was deaf, and his father and grandfather were famous in England for their work in a field of speech development called elocution. This inspired Bell to study speech and communication as well.

Just a week after his 29th birthday, Bell made the first telephone call using his most-well known invention.

Bell became a professor in elocution at Boston University and decided to split his time between his Ontario home and Boston. In 1876, Bell had advanced his work to the point where he was able to transmit sounds using a method that involved a needle vibrating in water, which caused the electrical current to change. The change in current was what transmitted the sound.  

In August 1876, Bell conducted a demonstration of his telephone by using two telegraph offices that were five miles apart. Using only the existing telegraph lines, Bell was able to conduct the world's first phone call in front of an audience of amazed onlookers.

The wall telephone shown here is an American Bell Telephone and dates back to circa 1907. It was used at the Sheyenne Public School and now finds a home in the lobby of the Brantford Depot.

These types of phones were ideal rural areas that didn't have electricity. The phone's magneto crank and battery generated the electrical current needed to connect a call.