Alexander Graham Bell Day is a holiday observed every March 7th to commemorate the day he was granted a patent for “transmitting voice or other sounds telegraphically” in 1876. Three days later, Mr. Bell would utter one of his most famous phrases when he made the very first phone call, summoning his lab assistant.

That phrase was “Mr. Watson, come here.” From that point on, history would be significantly changed as the telephone altered the world of communications forever. This holiday is the perfect day for people to celebrate. It doesn’t matter if they’re just a big fan of history or if they rely on their telephone on a daily basis; this is a day that many people will probably want to celebrate.

A Brief Biography of Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Bell was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father was Professor Alexander Melville Bell, and his mother was Eliza Grace Symonds. Bell would plead with his parents at the age of 10 years old to have a middle name added to his name, just like his two brothers had. For his 11th birthday, his parents finally agreed to allow the boy to take the middle name Graham, in honor of Alexander Graham—a man being treated by his father and who had become a family friend.

Alexander Graham Bell would grow up to have a lifelong obsession with sound and how it worked. In 1875, while he was working to send multiple telegraph signals over the same wire by the use of harmonics, he heard a strange sound—somewhat of a twang. This led him to research whether the electrical device could be used to carry a human voice. On March 7, 1876, he would patent the technology that would be used in the telephone, and on March 10, 1876, he would famously summon his assistant.

Observing Alexander Graham Bell Day

This holiday is usually observed by learning more about Alexander Bell and/or learning more about his invention. It’s also a good day to visit your local telecommunication museum and see some of the exhibits they might have on display.