Alexander Graham Bell, best known for his invention of the telephone, revolutionized communication as we know it. Ultimately, the talented scientist held more than 18 patents for his inventions and work in communications.
In 1872, he opened the School of Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech in Boston, where deaf people were taught to speak. At age 26, the budding inventor became Professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at the Boston University School of Oratory, even though he didn’t have a university degree. While teaching, Bell met Mabel Hubbard, a deaf student. The couple married on July 11, 1877. They went on to have four children, including two sons who died as infants. On March 7, 1876, Bell was granted his telephone patent. A few days later, he made the first-ever telephone call to Watson, allegedly uttering the now-famous phrase, “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you.”
By 1877, the Bell Telephone Company, which today is known as AT&T, was created. In 1915, Bell made the first transcontinental phone call to Watson from New York to San Francisco.