Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist, and engineer who is best known for inventing the TELEPHONE. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1847 and his middle name, Graham, was taken from his mother's maiden name. He also had the surname Bell, which he adopted from his grandfather. He is also credited with inventing the photophone, which allowed for the transmission of sound over a beam of light. He was also a professor at Boston University and was awarded the Volta Prize for his work in acoustics.