Alexander Graham Bell Day

You may have thought President’s Day was the end of holiday season in the New Year…but hold the phone! Alexander Graham Bell Day is celebrated every year on March 7th!

On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for “transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically.” Three days later, Bell uttered the famous words “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” into a transmitter. Thomas Watson, Bell’s assistant, heard the words clearly from the next room, and the first telephone was created.

Think how the telephone has and continues to change our lives and our communities! You can commemorate this holiday by learning more about the science and technology behind the telephone and the cell phone and visiting any local telecommunications museum or wing of a museum. Each time you send or receive a phone call or text message, send out a little thanks to Alexander Graham Bell. What a difference the phone has made to our world!

Fun Facts: Bell had many ideas of how to improve his original invention. He once said that “the day will come when the man at the telephone will be able to see the distant person to whom he is speaking.” Do you think that he was imagining some type of video call? Amazing! Bell is also credited with being the inventor of the metal detector and he was one of the founders of the National Geographic Society.