130 ANNUA!, REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1924 



board a brief memorial commemorating the life and work of Doctor Bell, a 

 former Regent of the Institution, begs to submit the following: 



"Alexander Graham Bell, doctor of philosophy, doctor of science, a member 

 of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, was born March 3, 

 1847, at Edinburgh, Scotland. 



•' Doctor Bell was appointed a Regent on January 24, 1898, and served until 

 February 20, 1922. During this entire period of 24 years he was a member of 

 the executive and permanent committees of the board, where his sound judg- 

 ment and ripe experience were of great assistance to his associates. 

 ■ " Doctor Bell's interest in the work of the Smithsonian Institution began 

 many years before his appointment as Regent, his studies in acoustics par- 

 ticularly having been the subject of many consultations with Secretary Henry. 

 Later, in 1887, when Samuel P. Langley was elected secretary, he resumed 

 his intimate though unofficial relations, as evidenced by his gift of $5,000 in 

 1891 in connection with the development of the Astrophysical Observatory, and 

 his helpful interest in the aerodynamical researches of Secretary Langley. It 

 was Doctor Bell who made the only successful photograph of the Langley 

 model in its first flight. May 6, 189G, though at this time he was independently 

 conducting exhaustive experiments in this new science. 



"After he became a Regent, Doctor Bell was likewise active in forwarding 

 the work of the Institution in many directions. Among the notable matters 

 that particularly engaged his personal attention were : 



" His voluntary service in transferring the remains of James Smithson, 

 founder of the Institution, from the English cemetery at Genoa, Italy, to their 

 final resting place in the Smithsonian Building : 



" His suggestion that resulted in the establishment of the Langley medal 

 in connection with the development of aviation ; 



" His labors as a member of the committee on award of this medal ; and 



" His historical address upon Secretary Langley's discovery of the principles 

 of aviation, delivered February 10, 1910, at the presentation of the Langley 

 medal to its first recipients, the Wright brothers. 



" Doctor Bell had reached a high eminence in the scientific world long before 

 his connection with the Institution. The history of his achievements is too 

 well known to be repeated here; but it is proper to mention his invention of 

 the telephone; his great work in the physiology of human speech that made 

 it possible for him to teach the deaf to speak; and his invention of the tele- 

 phone probe for detecting the presence of bullets in the human body. He was 

 a believer in geographic research and was one of the founders of the National 

 Geographic Society. He was a member of the National Academy of Sci- 

 ences, and of other national and international learned organizations, and was 

 the recipient of many medals, degrees, and other honors as a man of great 

 scientific achievement. 



" Doctor Bell had a strong physique, but the strain of many years of intense 

 endeavor made itself felt, and he found it necessary to give up much of his 

 work in the last year or two of his life. His weakness increased until the 

 end came on August 2, 1922, at his summer home near Baddeck, Nova Scotia. 



" Alexander Graham Bell was one of the outstanding men of his time, 

 and his death brought a highly useful career to a close." 



Respectfully submitted. 



George Gray, 

 Henry White, 

 Frederic A. Delano, 



Executive Committee. 



On motion, the memorial was approved and ordered to be spread 

 upon the records of the board. 



