Alexander Graham Bell (1847 – 1922) was a Scottish born scientist credited with inventing the first practical telephone. Bell was educated at the University of Edinburgh and at University College, London. In 1870, he emigrated to Canada with his family. A year later Bell moved to the United States. Bell's father and grandfather were both experts in the physiology of speech. Much of Bell's early work was associated with teaching the deaf. Bell's patents on the telephone made him tremendously wealthy. In later life Bell conducted extensive research in aeronautics. He was also one of the founders of the National Geographic Society.