Bell Memorial invention of the telephone in Brantford and to name Bell as its inventor. What was highly unusual in this instance was the building of an important monument to a living person, an event usually conducted only for imperial leaders. The duality of the monument with its dedication to both the inventor and to his invention, with its emphasis on the latter, likely persuaded Alexander Graham Bell, normally modest, to accept the invitation to its public unveiling. The association was organized with the support of George, Prince of Wales (later King George V), Viceroy of India and former Governor-General of Canada
Bell Telephone Company in their country. The International Bell Telephone Company (IBTC) shortly evolved into a holding company for its various telephone service and production divisions, with its major manufacturing arm being the Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company (BTMC), which was founded in Antwerp, Belgium, on 26 April 1882. BTMC was created as a joint venture by the International Bell Telephone Company of New York and the Western Electric Company of Chicago, Illinois. BTMC then established la "Compagnie Belge du Téléphone Bell" ("Bell Telephone Company of Belgium") in the same year as its Belgian operating subsidiary for telephone service, one of several companies that