Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (/ˈɡreɪ.əm/, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922)[4] was a Scottish-born[N 1] Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the rst practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1885.[7] Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly inuencing Bell's life's work.[8] His research on hearing and speech fu her led him to experiment with hearing devices, which eventually culminated in his being awarded the rst U.S. patent for the telephone, on March 7, 1876.[N 2] Bell considered his invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.[9][N 3] Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils, and aeronauti...