Alexander Graham Bell ( born Alexander Bell; 1847 – 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical Telephone.
He also co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1885. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which
eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S patent for the telephone, on March 7, 1876. Bell considered his invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused
to have a telephone in his study. Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunication, hydrofoils and aeronautics.
Bell has been proudly claimed as a "native son" by all three countries he resided in: the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
By 1885, a new summer retreat was contemplated. That summer, the Bells had a vacation on Cape breton Island in Nova Scotia, spending time at the
small village of Baddeck Returning in 1886, Bell started building an estate on a point across from Baddeck, overlooking Bras D'or Lake. By 1889, a large house,
christened THE LODGE was completed and two years later, a larger complex of buildings, including a new laboratory, were begun that the Bells would name
BEINN BHREAGH ( Gaelic : Beautiful Mountain). In his final, and some of his most productive years, Bell split his residency between Washington, D.C., where he
and his family initially resided for most of the year, and Beinn Bhreagh, where they spent increasing amounts of time.
Until the end of his life, Bell and his family would alternate between the two homes, but Beinn Bhreagh , over the next 30 years, become more than
a summer home as Bell became so absorbed in his experiments that his annual stays lengthened. Both Mabel and Bell became immersed
in the Baddeck community and were accepted by the villagers as "their own".