Alexander Graham Bell: Voice of Invention

• Documentary

Episode overview

His drive to help his deaf mother communicate led to one of the most important inventions of the 20th century. But the telephone was only one of many notable contributions he made to fields ranging from medicine to aviation. Alexander Graham Bell left his mark on the world with the invention of the telephone. But he might have been a footnote in history if not for his lawyer, who filed for the patent a mere two hours before his rival Elisha Gray, who had also unraveled the mysteries of communicating by wire. From his childhood in Scotland and his long struggle to get out from under his father's shadow to the invention of the precursors to the X-ray machine and Iron Lung, Biography traces the life of the famed inventor. Discover how he saved National Geographic from financial ruin, and why Helen Keller dedicated her autobiography to him! Biography proudly presents a tribute to a man whose life and genius touched millions.

60 minutes