Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell was a Scotsman who lived in the USA. He had a Summer home in Nova Scotia but was never a Canadian. For a scientist to qualify as Canadian, the simple rule is: they must have held Canadian citizenship when they did their most distinguished work. We include him here because many people consider him Canadian.
Throughout his life Bell was interested in the education of deaf people. Among his most famous students was Helen Keller. His work with hearing and speech led to his most famous invention, the telephone, in 1876. Although the first phone conversation took place in the US, Bell said he developed the idea in 1875 in Brantford, Ontario. It is certain that many of his early experiments were conducted there, including the first long distance telephone call, between Brantford and Paris, Ontario. He also invented the microphone. The Bell Telephone Company and other related businesses made Bell a wealthy man, and he was able to pursue a wide range of scientific interests. He spent his winters in the US on business, and summers in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on scientific research, which ranged from the genetics of sheep breeding to aviation. His Silver Dart aircraft was the first to fly in Canada, in 1909, and his hydrofoil speed boats held the world record for more than 10 years. Bell died of diabetes in 1922, ironically the same year that Banting discovered insulin. It is doubtful that he ever became a Canadian citizen.
Sources: Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame
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