Alexander invented the telephone Bell was one of the co-founders of the National Geographic Society, and he served as its president from 1896 to 1904. He also founded the Journal of Science in 1883. When Alexander Graham Bell died on August 4, 1922, millions of phones went dead. In Bell's honor, all phones served by the Bell System in the USA and Canada went silent for one minute. Long before Alexander Graham Bell filed a patent application in 1875, Daniel Drawbaugh claimed to have invented the telephone. But since he had no journal or record, the Supreme Court rejected his claims by four votes to three. Alexander Graham Bell had excellent records and was awarded the patent for the telephone. Bell was granted 18 patents in his name, and 12 he shared with collaborators