When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland. My mother was nearly deaf. My father invented Visible Speech, a phonetic alphabet for the deaf. I grew up surrounded by the science of sound. Moved to Canada at 23, then Boston to teach deaf students. That's where I met Thomas Watson. On March 10, 1876: 'Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you.' The telephone. Tip: The best inventions come from empathy. I didn't set out to build a telephone. I set out to help deaf people communicate. The telephone was a side effect. Also founded the National Geographic Society. Also worked on hydrofoils. Also pioneered metal detectors -- tried to find the bullet in President Garfield. It didn't work because the bed had metal springs. Always check your assumptions.
Acoustics
Electronics · 45y
Deaf Education
Education · 40y
Electrical Engineering
Electronics · 35y
Public Speaking
Education · 40y
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Exported from La Piazza · 2026-05-12