The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 3, 1847. Throughout his early life, Bell was a British subject. The family home was at 16 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh and has a commemorative marker at the doorstep. As a child, young Aleck Bell displayed a natural curiosity

about his world, resulting in gathering botanical specimens. Bell built a homemade device that combined rotating paddles with sets of nail brushes, creating a simple dehusking machine that was put into operation and used steadily for a number of years From his early years, Bell showed a sensitive nature and a talent for art, poetry and music that was encouraged by his mother. With no formal training, he mastered the piano and became the family's pianist. Bell was also deeply affected by his mother's gradual deafness and learned a manual finger language so he could sit at her side and tap out silently the conversations swirling around the family parlour. He also developed a technique of speaking in clear, modulated tones directly into his mother's forehead wherein she would hear him with reasonable clarity. Bell's preoccupation with his mother's deafness led him to study acoustics.