31 moments

1. Birth in Edinburgh

   1847-03-03 · South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, Scotland

   Bell was born in Edinburgh, beginning a life that would span Scotland, Canada, the United States, and Europe. Coordinates represent Bell's documented South Charlotte Street birthplace.

2. Pupil-teacher at Weston House Academy

   1863-01-01 · Weston House Academy, Elgin, Moray, Scotland

   As a teenager, Bell held a pupil-teacher position in elocution and music at Weston House Academy. The source gives Bell's age rather than an exact calendar date; 1863 is the earliest year consistent with his March 1847 birth.

3. University studies in Edinburgh

   1866-01-01 · University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland

   Bell attended the University of Edinburgh, joining his brother Melville there. The source gives the event relative to Bell's pupil-teacher year; 1866 is a defensible approximate year.

4. Instructor at Somerset College

   1868-01-01 · Somerset College, Bath, England

   Bell worked as an instructor at Somerset College while living in Bath and preparing for degree examinations. The source describes this as the year after Bell returned home in 1867; 1868 is approximate.

5. University College London studies

   1868-01-01 · University College London, London, England

   Bell was accepted at University College London but did not complete his course before the family's 1870 emigration to Canada. Coordinates are for the University College London campus.

6. Arrival in Paris, Ontario

   1870-01-01 · Paris, Ontario, Canada

   Bell emigrated with his parents and sister-in-law to Canada, initially staying in Paris, Ontario. Coordinates represent central Paris, Ontario; the source does not identify the Henderson home precisely.

7. Workshop at Tutela Heights

   1870-01-01 · Tutela Heights, Brantford, Ontario, Canada

   At the Bell family's new Ontario homestead, Bell established a workshop and resumed experiments with electricity and sound. Coordinates represent the Bell Homestead/Tutela Heights area near Brantford.

8. Return to Brantford

   1871-01-01 · Brantford, Ontario, Canada

   After approximately six months away teaching, Bell returned to his Ontario home and continued harmonic-telegraph experiments. Date is limited to the year stated by the surrounding chronology.

9. Visible Speech work in Montreal

   1871-01-01 · Montreal, Quebec, Canada

   

   Bell accompanied his father to Montreal when Alexander Melville Bell was offered a Visible Speech teaching position. Coordinates represent central Montreal.

10. Training teachers at Boston School for Deaf Mutes

    1871-04-01 · Boston School for Deaf Mutes, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    Bell traveled to Boston to train instructors in his father's Visible Speech system, an important start to his American career teaching deaf students and teachers. Coordinates are a representative point for the historic Boston School for Deaf Mutes area.

11. School of Vocal Physiology opens

    1872-10-01 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Bell opened his Boston school, where he taught speech and attracted deaf pupils. The precise school address is not supplied by the source; coordinates represent central Boston.

12. Experimental room in Salem

    1873-01-01 · Salem, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Thomas Sanders arranged for Bell to stay near Salem with a room specifically available for Bell's experiments. The source situates this arrangement after Bell's autumn 1873 return to Boston; coordinates represent central Salem.

13. Return to Boston for sound experiments

    1873-01-01 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Bell returned to Boston and chose to focus his work on experiments involving sound. The source supports autumn 1873 but not a more precise date or laboratory address.

14. Phonautograph experiments at the Bell homestead

    1874-01-01 · Bell Homestead, Tutela Heights, Brantford, Ontario, Canada

    

    During the summer in Brantford, Bell experimented with the phonautograph and developed ideas central to transmitting sound electrically. The source specifies summer 1874 but not a day.

15. Consultation with Joseph Henry

    1875-03-01 · Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States

    Bell and patent attorney Anthony Pollok sought advice from Joseph Henry about Bell's proposed voice-transmitting apparatus. Coordinates represent the Smithsonian Institution Building; the consultation is dated only to March.

16. Telephone trial at 5 Exeter Place

    1875-07-01 · 5 Exeter Place, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Bell and Thomas Watson tested paired membrane devices over a line between rooms in Bell's Boston residence. The source says the test occurred a few days after July 1, 1875; date precision is therefore limited to July.

17. First intelligible telephone sentence

    1876-03-10 · 109 Court Street, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Bell used the telephone in Boston to summon Thomas Watson, in the landmark experiment demonstrating intelligible speech transmission. The source identifies the building as above the Palace Theatre at 109 Court Street.

18. Centennial Exhibition demonstration

    1876-06-01 · Centennial Exhibition, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

    Bell exhibited a working telephone at Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition, gaining international attention from visitors including Pedro II and William Thomson. Coordinates represent the former Centennial Exhibition grounds in Fairmount Park.

19. Mount Pleasant telephone test

    1876-08-03 · Mount Pleasant, Brant County, Ontario, Canada

    Bell received a telephone transmission from his uncle at the A. Wallis Ellis store in Mount Pleasant, one of the early Ontario distance tests. Coordinates represent Mount Pleasant; the exact historic store location is not supplied.

20. Long-distance telephone call from Brantford

    1876-08-10 · Bell Homestead, Tutela Heights, Brantford, Ontario, Canada

    Bell placed a telephone call from the Bell family homestead to an assistant in Paris, demonstrating that the telephone could function over a long distance. Coordinates represent the Bell family homestead.

21. Marriage to Mabel Hubbard

    1877-07-11 · Hubbard estate, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

    Bell married Mabel Hubbard at her family estate in Cambridge shortly after the Bell Telephone Company was established. The precise Hubbard estate location is not provided; coordinates represent central Cambridge.

22. Telephone demonstration for Queen Victoria

    1878-01-14 · Osborne House, East Cowes, Isle of Wight, England

    Bell demonstrated the telephone to Queen Victoria at Osborne House, placing calls to Cowes, Southampton, and London.

23. Move to Washington and laboratory establishment

    1879-01-01 · Washington, D.C., United States

    Bell moved to Washington, D.C., and established a laboratory with Charles Sumner Tainter, leading into the Volta Laboratory work. The source does not identify the first laboratory's exact address; coordinates represent central Washington.

24. Photophone reception at Bell's laboratory

    1880-06-21 · Volta Laboratory, Washington, D.C., United States

    

    Bell received a wireless voice transmission sent from the roof of Washington's Franklin School to the window of his laboratory. Coordinates represent the Volta Laboratory at 1221 Connecticut Avenue NW.

25. Metal-detector effort at the White House

    1881-01-01 · White House, Washington, D.C., United States

    Bell twice attempted to locate the bullet in President James A. Garfield's body using an induction-balance metal detector. The source identifies the White House as Garfield's treatment location but does not date Bell's two attempts more precisely than 1881.

26. First visit to Baddeck

    1885-01-01 · Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Bell and his family vacationed on Cape Breton Island, spending time in Baddeck; the visit began his enduring association with the community and nearby Beinn Bhreagh. Coordinates represent central Baddeck.

27. Beinn Bhreagh estate begins

    1886-01-01 · Beinn Bhreagh, near Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Bell returned to Baddeck and began building the estate across Bras d'Or Lake that became his principal later-life retreat and research base. Coordinates represent the Beinn Bhreagh estate area; access remains private.

28. Witness to Langley's aerodrome model

    1896-05-06 · Quantico, Virginia, United States

    

    Bell personally witnessed Samuel Langley's successful aerodrome-model flight, an experience he later described as confirming his belief in powered heavier-than-air flight. Coordinates represent Quantico; the exact Potomac River test position is not specified in the quoted deposition.

29. Honorary degree at the University of Edinburgh

    1906-01-01 · University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland

    Bell returned to his native city and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Edinburgh. The source's image caption supplies the year but not a day.

30. Ceremonial transcontinental telephone call

    1915-01-25 · AT&T headquarters, 15 Dey Street, New York City, New York, United States

    

    Bell participated from AT&T headquarters in New York in the ceremonial transcontinental telephone call with Thomas Watson in San Francisco.

31. Death at Beinn Bhreagh

    1922-08-02 · Beinn Bhreagh, near Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Bell died at his private Cape Breton estate after a long illness. Coordinates represent the Beinn Bhreagh estate area.