Invention of the telephone Gray's led to the myth that Bell had arrived at the Patent Office earlier. Bell was in Boston on February 14 and did not know this happened until later. Gray later abandoned his caveat and did not contest Bell's priority. That opened the door to Bell being granted US patent 174465 for the telephone on March 7, 1876. In 1906 the citizens of the City of Brantford, Ontario, Canada and its surrounding area formed the Bell Memorial Association to commemorate the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in July 1874 at his parent's home, Melville House, near Brantford.
Melville Bell Grosvenor Melville Bell Grosvenor Melville Bell Grosvenor (November 26, 1901 – April 22, 1982) was the president of the National Geographic Society and editor of "The National Geographic Magazine" from 1957 to 1967. He was the grandson of telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell. A photography enthusiast, he increased the size of printed photographs in the magazine, and initiated the practice, that continues to this day, of opening articles with a two-page photo feature. He reduced the name of the publication from "The National Geographic Magazine" to "National Geographic". Under Grosvenor's tenure, "National Geographic" also began to branch out from land expeditions