Skip to main content

Primary sourceSpeech31 October 1877

The Telephone: Researches in Electric Telephony

Alexander Graham Bell · 31 October 1877

Bell's own lecture text on his telephone research, delivered before the Society of Telegraph Engineers in 1877.

Bell's own lecture explaining his telephone research to a scientific society, in his own words.

Ask Alexander Graham about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (public-domain edition)

About this source

What it is

This text records a lecture titled 'Researches in Electric Telephony,' delivered by Professor Alexander Graham Bell before the Society of Telegraph Engineers on 31 October 1877, and later published by the Society.

Why it matters

This lecture is Bell's own explanation of his telephone research, given to a professional scientific audience not long after his invention became known. It shows how Bell presented his work to experts and how he framed the importance of his discovery.

Look closer

  • Why might Bell choose to present his research to an audience of telegraph engineers specifically?
  • What does the formality of the lecture's title and setting suggest about how seriously his work was taken?
  • What might this kind of technical lecture leave out compared to a personal account of the invention?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Alexander Graham on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Alexander Graham sources

Meet the AI Alexander Graham →
Scan of the first page of U.S. Patent No. 174,465, titled 'United States Patent Office,' naming Alexander Graham Bell of Salem, Massachusetts, and 'Improvement in Telegraphy.' Dense printed text in two columns follows.Document

Primary source

U.S. Patent No. 174,465, Improvement in Telegraphy

Alexander Graham Bell · 7 March 1876

Artifact

Primary source

Recording of the Voice of Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Graham Bell · 1885

Handwritten pen sketch labeled 'Fig 4' in a notebook showing a liquid transmitter: a diaphragm labeled B, a cup labeled C in a container, a point labeled P, a battery symbol, and a switch labeled S, with partial handwritten text below.Painting

Primary source

Drawing of a Liquid Transmitter, 8 March 1876

Alexander Graham Bell · 8 March 1876

Book

Primary source

Memoir Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race

Alexander Graham Bell · 1884

Black-and-white studio portrait of an elderly man with white hair and a full white beard, wearing a dark suit, vest, and tie, looking toward the camera against a soft gray backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Portrait of Alexander Graham Bell

Moffett Studio

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Alexander Graham now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions