On March 3, 1847, the great inventor Alexander Graham Bell was born. His father was Professor Alexander Melville Bell and his mother was Eliza Grace. Alexander Bell had two brothers, Edward Charles Bell and Melville James Bell. When Alexander was ten years old, he begged his father to give him a middle name like his brothers. For his eleventh birthday, Alexander gave him the middle name Graham, in homage to their family friend Alexander Graham. His two brothers died of tuberculosis. As a child, young Alexander was very curious about the world around him. His best friend was Ben Herdman. His family operated a flour mill, which would become the center of his first invention. One day, Bell asked Ben what to do at the factory. He was told that the wheat had to be hulled in a laborious process. When Alexander was 12, he created a homemade device using rotating paddles and sets of nail brushes, creating a simple machine for hulling wheat. It was commissioned and used regularly for several years. As a reward for this machine, Alexander and Ben were allowed to use a small workshop for inventing. At a young age, Graham learned to play the piano and became the family pianist. Bell also enjoyed performing voice tricks and ventriloquism, entertaining Bell's guests whenever they were present. His mother suffered from progressive deafness, deeply affecting Alexandre. He learned finger language so he could sit beside her and follow conversations quietly, so she could always participate in family conversations. Bell's concern about his mother's deafness led him to study acoustics. Bell, like his brothers, was educated by his father from an early age. Later he was enrolled at the Royal High Sc...... middle of paper...... people in the United States owned telephones. In 1879, the Bell Company acquired Edison's patents for the carbon microphone from Western Union. This made the telephone convenient for longer distances and it was no longer necessary to shout to be heard on the receiving telephone. Bell is also credited with inventing the metal detector in 1881. The device was quickly developed in an attempt to find the bullet in the body of U.S. President James Garfield. In 1922, Bell died from complications of his diabetes. He also suffered from pernicious anemia. Alexander Graham Bell was an extraordinary person and he changed the world forever. Works Cited “Alexander Graham Bell.” Alexander Graham Bell. Np, and Web. February 26, 2014. “Biography of Alexander Graham Bell.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, and Web. February 26, 2014. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, nd Web. February 27. 2014.