Alexander Graham Bell
Birthdate: March 3, 1847
Birth Place: Edinburgh, Scotland
Year Inducted: 1973
Death Date: August 2, 1922
"The brilliance of his intellect, applied without reserve to the mystery of manned flight, was a prime factor in the birth of the North America's aviation industry and has proven to be of outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation."
Alexander Graham Bell, born in Scotland, moved to Ontario with his parents in 1870. In 1876 he invented the forerunner of the modern telephone and the gramophone. He began experimenting with rocket-powered propellers in 1891 (modern day helicopter rotors) and began designing huge man-carrying tetrahedral kites. Later, J.A.D. McCurdy, F.W. Baldwin and Bell formed the Aerial Experiment Association which designed Canada's first heavier-than-air machine. Bell, credited as the father of Canadian aviation, designed the Baddeck 1 and 2 and the Silver Dart. In the early 1900s, Bell also invented the first successful hydrofoil craft as a result of his research in aerodynamics.
Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame
Glossary