Alexander Graham Bell,   Brantford, Ontario,   March 10, 1876.

Bell taught people who were deaf, so he was acutely sensitive to sound vibrations and how they travelled. Bell realized that the vibrations in human speech could be turned into variations in electrical current that could be transmitted through wires from one place to another. His invention not only made it possible for us to chat with friends miles away, but opened the door for intercoms, walkie-talkies, radio, fax transmission and even the Internet. Wonder what he would have thought of VoiceMail and answering machines....