But Amnesty International found no evidence that UNFPA had supported the coercion. A 2001 study conducted by the pro-life Population Research Institute (PRI) falsely claimed that the UNFPA shared an office with the Chinese family planning officials who were carrying out forced abortions. "We located the family planning offices, and in that family planning office, we located the UNFPA office, and we confirmed from family planning officials there that there is no distinction between what the UNFPA does and what the Chinese Family Planning Office does," said Scott Weinberg, a spokesman for PRI. However, United Nations Members disagreed and approved UNFPA’s new country program me in January 2006. The more than 130 members of the “Group of 77” developing countries in the United Nations expressed support for the UNFPA programmes. In addition, speaking for European democracies -- Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany -- the United Kingdom stated, ”UNFPA’s activities in China, as in the rest of the world, are in strict conformity with the unanimously adopted Programme of Action of the ICPD, and play a key role in supporting our common endeavor, the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

What organization found no evidence that UNFPA had supported Chinese coercion?

Amnesty International

In 2001, what organization accused UNFPA of sharing office space with Chinese family planning officials?

Population Research Institute

In January 2006, who approved UNFPA's new country programme?

United Nations Members

How many members does the “Group of 77” have?

Who, speaking for the European democracies, also defended UNFPA?

the United Kingdom

What organization found plenty of evidence that UNFPA had supported Chinese coercion?

I'm not sure.

How many members does the “Group of 44” have?

I'm not sure.

In January 2006, who destroyed UNFPA's new country programme?

I'm not sure.

Who, speaking for the European democracies, also disliked UNFPA?

I'm not sure.

What organization was sharing office space with Chinese family planning officials in 2011?

I'm not sure.


President Bush denied funding to the UNFPA. Over the course of the Bush Administration, a total of $244 million in Congressionally approved funding was blocked by the Executive Branch.

Which government official blocked funding to the UNFPA?

President

What was the name of the official who blocked UNFPA funding?

Bush

How much funding was blocked?

$244 million

Which branch of government denied the UNFPA funding?

the Executive Branch

How had the UNFPA funding been initially approved?

Congressionally

Which government official increased funding to the UNFPA?

I'm not sure.

What was the name of the official who increased UNFPA funding?

I'm not sure.

How much was funding increased by?

I'm not sure.

Which administration increased funding to UNFPA?

I'm not sure.


In response, the EU decided to fill the gap left behind by the US under the Sandbaek report. According to its Annual Report for 2008, the UNFPA received its funding mainly from European Governments: Of the total income of M845.3 M, $118 was donated by the Netherlands, $67 M by Sweden, $62 M by Norway, $54 M by Denmark, $53 M by the UK, $52 M by Spain, $19 M by Luxembourg. The European Commission donated further $36 M. The most important non-European donor State was Japan ($36 M). The number of donors exceeded 180 in one year.

Which European government contributed the most to the UNFPA in 2008?

the Netherlands

Which European government contributed the least to the UNFPA in 2008?

Luxembourg

Which non-European donor was most important to the UNFPA in 2008?

Japan

In 2008, over how many countries contributed to the UNFPA?

Which non-European donor took away their donation to the UNFPA in 2008?

I'm not sure.

How many countries stopped supporting the UNFPA in 2008?

I'm not sure.

Which European government never contributed to the UNFPA in 2008?

I'm not sure.

What report was not left behind by the US?

I'm not sure.

What year did UNFPA receive funding mainly from non-European sources?

I'm not sure.


In America, nonprofit organizations like Friends of UNFPA (formerly Americans for UNFPA) worked to compensate for the loss of United States federal funding by raising private donations.

What is one country in which nonprofit organizations try to make up for the loss of United States funding for the UNFPA?

America

What kind of organization is Friends of UNFPA?

nonprofit

What was Friends of UNFPA's previous name?

Americans for UNFPA

What type of United States funding does Friends of UNFPA try to replace?

federal funding

Through what sort of donations does Friends of UNFPA raise money?

private donations

What is one country in which nonprofit organizations try to increase the loss of funding for the UNFPA?

I'm not sure.

What kind of organization is not friends of UNFPA?

I'm not sure.

What organization is mainly funded through public donations?

I'm not sure.

What country has never been involved with UNFPA?

I'm not sure.


In January 2009 President Barack Obama restored US funding to UNFPA, saying in a public statement that he would "look forward to working with Congress to restore US financial support for the UN Population Fund. By resuming funding to UNFPA, the US will be joining 180 other donor nations working collaboratively to reduce poverty, improve the health of women and children, prevent HIV/AIDS and provide family planning assistance to women in 154 countries."

Which president began funding UNFPA again?

Barack Obama

In what year did U.S. funding of UNFPA resume?

In what month did U.S. funding of UNFPA resume?

January

The president said the U.S. would be joining how many donor nations?

The president said funding the U.N. Population Fund would help in how many countries?

Which president never funded UNFPA again?

I'm not sure.

In what year did U.S. funding of UNFPA end?

I'm not sure.

In what month did U.S. funding of UNFPA end?

I'm not sure.

Who said funding the U.N. Population Fund would not help 154 countries?

I'm not sure.

What program funded in 2009 does not help women?

I'm not sure.


The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR; Russian: Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, tr. Rossiyskaya Sovetskaya Federativnaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika  listen (help·info)) commonly referred to as Soviet Russia or simply as Russia, was a sovereign state in 1917–22, the largest, most populous, and most economically developed republic of the Soviet Union in 1922–91 and a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with its own legislation in 1990–91. The Republic comprised sixteen autonomous republics, five autonomous oblasts, ten autonomous okrugs, six krais, and forty oblasts. Russians formed the largest ethnic group. To the west it bordered Finland, Norway and Poland; and to the south, China, Mongolia and North Korea whilst bordering the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Black sea and Caspian Sea to the south. Within the USSR, it bordered the Baltic republics (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), the Byelorussian SSR and the Ukrainian SSR to the west. To the south it bordered the Georgian, Azerbaijan and Kazakh SSRs.

Which ocean is along eastern Russia?

the Pacific Ocean

Which union did Russia belong to after 1922?

the Soviet Union

When did the RSFSR cease to be a part of the Soviet Union?

How many autonomous republics make up the RSFSR?

sixteen

The RSFSR contains how many oblasts?

forty

How many autonomous oblasts were part of the RSFSR?

five

How many krais were present in the RSFSR?

six

Which ocean is along western Russia?

I'm not sure.

Which union did Russia belong to before 1922?

I'm not sure.

When did the RSFSR continue to be a part of the Soviet Union?

I'm not sure.

How many dependent republics make up the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

The RSFSR rejects how many oblasts?

I'm not sure.


Under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks established the Soviet state on 7 November [O.S. 25 October] 1917, immediately after the Russian Provisional Government, which governed the Russian Republic, was overthrown during the October Revolution. Initially, the state did not have an official name and wasn't recognized by neighboring countries for five months. Meanwhile, anti-Bolsheviks coined the mocking label "Sovdepia" for the nascent state of the "Soviets of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies".

Which group originally created the Soviet state?

the Bolsheviks

Who led the group which created the Soviet state?

Vladimir Lenin

Which government was overthrown during the October Revolution?

the Russian Provisional Government

How long did the new Russian Soviet state go unrecognized by other countries?

five months

What name did people opposed to the Bolsheviks use for the Soviet state?

Sovdepia

Who was the leader of the Bolsheviks in 1917?

Vladimir Lenin

What body was overthrown by the October Revolution?

Russian Provisional Government

For how long did the Soviet Union go unrecognized?

five months

What derisive label was given to the USSR by the enemies of the Bolsheviks?

Sovdepia

Which group originally destroyed the Soviet state?

I'm not sure.

Who rejected the group which created the Soviet state?

I'm not sure.

Which government was overthrown before the October Revolution?

I'm not sure.

How long did the new Russian Soviet state go recognized by other countries?

I'm not sure.

What name did people opposed to the Bolsheviks reject for the Soviet state?

I'm not sure.


On December 30, 1922, with the creation of the Soviet Union, Russia became one of six republics within the federation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The final Soviet name for the republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, was adopted in the Soviet Constitution of 1936. By that time, Soviet Russia had gained roughly the same borders of the old Tsardom of Russia before the Great Northern War of 1700.

When was the Soviet Union created?

December 30, 1922

How many republics were in the USSR?

six

What name for Russia was listed in the Soviet Constitution?

the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

When did the Soviet Union include the final Russian name for its republic in the Constitution?

In which war was Russia involved in 1700?

the Great Northern War

On what date was the Soviet Union created?

December 30, 1922

How many republics made up the USSR by the end of 1922?

six

In what year was the name Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic adopted?

What document renamed the country the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic?

Soviet Constitution of 1936

In what year was the Great Northern War fought?

When was the Soviet Union destroyed?

I'm not sure.

How many republics weren't in the USSR?

I'm not sure.

What name for Russia wasn't listed in the Soviet Constitution?

I'm not sure.

When did the Soviet Union disclude the final Russian name for its republic in the Constitution?

I'm not sure.

In which war was Russia involved in 1710?

I'm not sure.


On December 25, 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the republic was renamed the Russian Federation, which it remains to this day. This name and "Russia" were specified as the official state names in the April 21, 1992 amendment to the existing constitution and were retained as such in the 1993 Constitution of Russia.

When did the Soviet Union break up?

December 25, 1991

Which name did Russia take after the fall of the Soviet Union?

the Russian Federation

What is the current official name of Russia?

the Russian Federation

When was the current name for Russia added to the Russian constitution?

April 21, 1992

When was Russia renamed the Russian Federation?

December 25, 1991

What event led to Russia being renamed the Russian Federation?

the collapse of the Soviet Union

When was Russia made an official state name of the Russian Federation?

April 21, 1992

What 1993 document confirmed Russia as an official state name of the Russian Federation?

1993 Constitution of Russia

When did the Soviet Empire break up?

I'm not sure.

Which name did Russia take after the rise of the Soviet Union?

I'm not sure.

What is the current unofficial name of Russia?

I'm not sure.

When wasn't the current name for Russia added to the Russian constitution?

I'm not sure.

What event led to the Russian Federation being renamed Russia?

I'm not sure.


The international borders of the RSFSR touched Poland on the west; Norway and Finland on the northwest; and to its southeast were the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Mongolian People's Republic, and the People's Republic of China. Within the Soviet Union, the RSFSR bordered the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian SSRs to its west and Azerbaijan, Georgian and Kazakh SSRs to the south.

Which country did the RSFSR border on the west?

Poland

Which countries did the RSFSR border on the northwest?

Norway and Finland

Which countries did the RSFSR border on the southeast?

Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Mongolian People's Republic, and the People's Republic of China

Which Soviet countries did the RSFSR border on the south?

Azerbaijan, Georgian and Kazakh SSRs

Which Soviet countries did the RSFSR border on the west?

the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian SSRs

What country borders Russia on the west?

Poland

Along with Norway, what country borders the RSFSR on the northwest?

Finland

In the USSR, what SSR did the RSFSR border along with the Kazakh SSR?

Georgian

Along with the Mongolian People's Republic and the People's Republic of China, what country did the RSFSR border to its southeast?

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Which country did the RSFSR conquer on the west?

I'm not sure.

Which countries did the RSFSR conquer on the northwest?

I'm not sure.

Which countries did the RSFSR incorporate on the southeast?

I'm not sure.

Which Russian countries did the RSFSR border on the south?

I'm not sure.

Which Soviet countries did the RSFSR reject on the west?

I'm not sure.


The Soviet regime first came to power on November 7, 1917, immediately after the Russian Provisional Government, which governed the Russian Republic, was overthrown in the October Revolution. The state it governed, which did not have an official name, would be unrecognized by neighboring countries for another five months.

When did the Soviet regime first become powerful?

November 7, 1917

Which government was in power before the Soviet regime?

the Russian Provisional Government

Which revolution led to the Soviet regime's rise to power?

the October Revolution

How long was the state of the Soviet regime unrecognized by other countries?

five months

What was the name of the republic the Russian Provisional Goverment ruled?

the Russian Republic

When did the Soviet government assume power?

November 7, 1917

What event led to the assumption of power by the Soviet government?

the October Revolution

What body governed Russia prior to the Soviet government?

the Russian Provisional Government

In months, for how long was the new Soviet state unrecognized?

five

When did the Soviet regime first lose power?

I'm not sure.

Which government was in power after the Soviet regime?

I'm not sure.

Which revolution led to the Soviet regime's fall from power?

I'm not sure.

How long was the state of the Soviet regime recognized by other countries?

I'm not sure.

What wasn't the name of the republic the Russian Provisional Goverment ruled?

I'm not sure.


On January 25, 1918, at the third meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the unrecognized state was renamed the Soviet Russian Republic. On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, giving away much of the land of the former Russian Empire to Germany, in exchange for peace in World War I. On July 10, 1918, the Russian Constitution of 1918 renamed the country the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. By 1918, during the Russian Civil War, several states within the former Russian Empire had seceded, reducing the size of the country even more.

Which official name was Russia given at the start of 1918?

the Soviet Russian Republic

To which country did Russia give land during World War I?

Germany

Which treaty did Russia sign in order to give land and gain peace during World War I?

the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

What war resulted in Russia shrinking further during 1918?

the Russian Civil War

What numbered meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets occurred on January 25, 1918?

third

On January 25, 1918, what was the official name given to the Soviet state?

the Soviet Russian Republic

What did Russia receive in return for signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

peace in World War I

On what date was the country renamed the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic?

July 10, 1918

During what 1918 conflict did states secede from Russia?

the Russian Civil War

Which unofficial name was Russia given at the start of 1918?

I'm not sure.

To which country did Russia give land during World War II?

I'm not sure.

Which treaty did Russia sign in order to give land and gain peace during World War II?

I'm not sure.

What war resulted in Russia growing further during 1918?

I'm not sure.

What numbered meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets occurred on January 25, 1981?

I'm not sure.


In 1943, Karachay Autonomous Oblast was dissolved by Joseph Stalin, when the Karachays were exiled to Central Asia for their alleged collaboration with the Germans and territory was incorporated into the Georgian SSR.

Which oblast was broken up in 1943?

Karachay Autonomous Oblast

Where were the Karachays sent after their oblast was broken up?

Central Asia

Which SSR received the land of the Karachays' oblast?

the Georgian SSR

Who broke up the Karachays' oblast?

Joseph Stalin

Who eliminated the Karachay Autonomous Oblast?

Joseph Stalin

When was the Karachay Autonomous Oblast ended?

To where were the Karachays exiled?

Central Asia

Why were the Karachays exiled?

alleged collaboration with the Germans

What republic was the territory of the Karachay Autonomous Oblast transferred to?

Georgian SSR

Which oblast was kept together in 1943?

I'm not sure.

Where were the Karachays not sent after their oblast was broken up?

I'm not sure.

Which SSR rejected the land of the Karachays' oblast?

I'm not sure.

Who didn't break up the Karachays' oblast?

I'm not sure.

When was the Karachay Autonomous Oblast not ended?

I'm not sure.


The RSFSR was established on November 7, 1917 (October Revolution) as a sovereign state. The first Constitution was adopted in 1918. In 1922 the Russian SFSR signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR.

On what date was the RSFSR established?

November 7, 1917

What event led to the establishment of the RSFSR?

October Revolution

In what year was the Constitution adopted?

The Treaty on the Creation of the USSR was signed in what year?

On what date was the RSFSR abolished?

I'm not sure.

What event led to the abolishment of the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

In what year was the Constitution rejected?

I'm not sure.

The Treaty on the Creation of the USSR was not signed in what year?

I'm not sure.

What year was the first Constitution not adopted?

I'm not sure.


The economy of Russia became heavily industrialized, accounting for about two-thirds of the electricity produced in the USSR. It was, by 1961, the third largest producer of petroleum due to new discoveries in the Volga-Urals region and Siberia, trailing only the United States and Saudi Arabia. In 1974, there were 475 institutes of higher education in the republic providing education in 47 languages to some 23,941,000 students. A network of territorially-organized public-health services provided health care. After 1985, the restructuring policies of the Gorbachev administration relatively liberalised the economy, which had become stagnant since the late 1970s, with the introduction of non-state owned enterprises such as cooperatives. The effects of market policies led to the failure of many enterprises and total instability by 1990.

How much of the USSR's electricity was produced in the RSFSR?

two-thirds

What two countries produced more petroleum than Russia in 1961?

the United States and Saudi Arabia

How many students were in institutions of higher education in Russia in 1974?

How many institutions of higher education did Russia possess in 1974?

In how many languages were students in institutions of higher education being educated in 1974?

How much of the USSR's electricity was delayed in the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

What two countries produced less petroleum than Russia in 1961?

I'm not sure.

How many students were in institutions of lower education in Russia in 1974?

I'm not sure.

How many institutions of high school did Russia possess in 1974?

I'm not sure.

In how many languages were students in institutions of high school being educated in 1974?

I'm not sure.


On June 12, 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty. On June 12, 1991, Boris Yeltsin was elected the first President. On December 8, 1991, heads of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords. The agreement declared dissolution of the USSR by its founder states (i.e. denunciation of 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the USSR) and established the CIS. On December 12, the agreement was ratified by the Russian Parliament, therefore Russian SFSR denounced the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and de facto declared Russia's independence from the USSR.

On what date was the Declaration of State Sovereignty adopted?

June 12, 1990

Who became president on June 12, 1991?

Boris Yeltsin

On what date were the Belavezha Accords signed?

December 8, 1991

When did the Russian Parliament ratify the Belavezha Accords?

December 12

What agreement did the Belavezha Accords supersede?

1922 Treaty on the Creation of the USSR

On what date was the Declaration of State Sovereignty rejected?

I'm not sure.

Who became prime minister on June 12, 1991?

I'm not sure.

On what date were the Belavezha Accords rejected?

I'm not sure.

When did the Russian Parliament reject the Belavezha Accords?

I'm not sure.

What agreement did the Belavezha Accords superimpose?

I'm not sure.


On December 25, 1991, the Russian SFSR was renamed the Russian Federation. On December 26, 1991, the USSR was self-dissolved by the Soviet of Nationalities, which by that time was the only functioning house of the Supreme Soviet (the other house, Soviet of the Union, had already lost the quorum after recall of its members by the union republics). After dissolution of the USSR, Russia declared that it assumed the rights and obligations of the dissolved central Soviet government, including UN membership.

What was the new name given to the RSFSR on December 25, 1991?

Russian Federation

On what date was the USSR dissolved?

December 26, 1991

What body was responsible for the dissolution of the USSR?

Soviet of Nationalities

What house of the Supreme Soviet was not functioning as of December 26, 1991?

Soviet of the Union

What was one right of the Soviet government that the government of Russia assumed?

UN membership

What was the new name given to the RSFSR on November 25, 1991

I'm not sure.

On what date was the USSR resolved?

I'm not sure.

What body was responsible for the solution of the USSR?

I'm not sure.

What house of the Supreme Soviet was functioning as of December 26, 1991?

I'm not sure.

What was one right of the Soviet government that the citizens of Russia assumed?

I'm not sure.


On January 25, 1918 the third meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets renamed the unrecognized state the Soviet Russian Republic. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on March 3, 1918, giving away much of the land of the former Russian Empire to Germany in exchange for peace during the rest of World War I. On July 10, 1918, the Russian Constitution of 1918 renamed the country the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. By 1918, during the Russian Civil War, several states within the former Russian Empire seceded, reducing the size of the country even more.

On what date was the state named the Soviet Russian Republic?

January 25, 1918

What body renamed the state the Soviet Russian Republic?

All-Russian Congress of Soviets

When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?

March 3, 1918

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ceded land to what state?

Germany

What document renamed the state the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic?

Russian Constitution of 1918

On what date was the state named the Soviet Communist Republic?

I'm not sure.

What head renamed the state the Soviet Russian Republic?

I'm not sure.

When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk rejected?

I'm not sure.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk took land from what state?

I'm not sure.

What person renamed the state the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic?

I'm not sure.


Internationally, in 1920, the RSFSR was recognized as an independent state only by Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania in the Treaty of Tartu and by the short-lived Irish Republic.

What treaty resulted in the recognition of the RSFSR by Latvia and other states?

Treaty of Tartu

Along with Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Lithuania, what state recognized the RSFSR in 1920?

Irish Republic

What treaty resulted in the nonrecognition of the RSFSR by Latvia and other states?

I'm not sure.

Along with Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Lithuania, what state went didn't recognize the RSFSR in 1920?

I'm not sure.

What year was the RSFSW nor recognized as an independent state?

I'm not sure.

What didn't happen in 1920?

I'm not sure.

Which countries refused to recognize the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.


For most of the Soviet Union's existence, it was commonly referred to as "Russia," even though technically "Russia" was only one republic within the larger union—albeit by far the largest, most powerful and most highly developed.

What was the common name of the Soviet Union?

Russia

Technically, what type of state was Russia?

republic

What was the largest republic in the Soviet Union?

Russia

What was the uncommon name of the Soviet Union?

I'm not sure.

Technically, what type of state wasn't Russia?

I'm not sure.

What was the smallest republic in the Soviet Union?

I'm not sure.

Which republic was the least developed?

I'm not sure.

Which republic was the least powerful?

I'm not sure.


Roughly 70% of the area in the RSFSR consisted of broad plains, with mountainous tundra regions mainly concentrated in the east. The area is rich in mineral resources, including petroleum, natural gas, and iron ore.

What percentage of the RSFSR was made up of plains?

In what part of the RSFSR did tundra mainly exist?

the east

Along with petroleum and iron ore, what resource was abundant in the RSFSR?

natural gas

What percentage of the RSFSR wasn't made up of plains?

I'm not sure.

In what part of the RSFSR did tundra mainly not exist?

I'm not sure.

Along with petroleum and iron ore, what resource was depleted in the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

What scarce resources are there?

I'm not sure.

Where are the desert regions mainly concentrated?

I'm not sure.


On December 30, 1922, the First Congress of the Soviets of the USSR approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR, by which Russia was united with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, and Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic into a single federal state, the Soviet Union. Later treaty was included in the 1924 Soviet Constitution,[clarification needed] adopted on January 31, 1924 by the Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR.

On what date was the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR passed?

December 30, 1922

What body passed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR?

First Congress of the Soviets of the USSR

Along with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, what state joined Russia to form the Soviet Union?

Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic

On what date was the 1924 Soviet Constitution adopted?

January 31, 1924

What body adopted the 1924 Soviet Constitution?

the Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR

On what date was the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR rejected?

I'm not sure.

What body rejected the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR?

I'm not sure.

Along with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, what state didn't join Russia to form the Soviet Union?

I'm not sure.

On what date was the 1942 Soviet Constitution adopted?

I'm not sure.

What body rejected the 1924 Soviet Constitution?

I'm not sure.


Many regions in Russia were affected by the Soviet famine of 1932–1933: Volga; Central Black Soil Region; North Caucasus; the Urals; the Crimea; part of Western Siberia; and the Kazak ASSR. With the adoption of the 1936 Soviet Constitution on December 5, 1936, the size of the RSFSR was significantly reduced. The Kazakh ASSR and Kirghiz ASSR were transformed into the Kazakh and Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republics. The Karakalpak Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic was transferred to the Uzbek SSR.

During what span was there a famine in the Soviet Union?

What document was ratified on December 5, 1936?

the 1936 Soviet Constitution

What were the Kazakh ASSR and Kirghiz ASSR renamed per the 1936 Soviet Constitution?

the Kazakh and Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republics

What republic did the Karakalpak Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic become a part of?

the Uzbek SSR

What effect did the 1936 Soviet Constitution have on the size of the Russia?

reduced

During what span was there a feast in the Soviet Union?

I'm not sure.

What document was rejected on December 5, 1936?

I'm not sure.

What were the Kazakh ASSR and Kirghiz ASSR not named per the 1936 Soviet Constitution?

I'm not sure.

What republic did the Karakalpak Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic cease being a part of?

I'm not sure.

What effect did the 1963 Soviet Constitution have on the size of the Russia?

I'm not sure.


The final name for the republic during the Soviet era was adopted by the Russian Constitution of 1937, which renamed it the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

What was Soviet Russia called as of 1937?

the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

What document changed the name of Russia in 1937?

the Russian Constitution of 1937

What was Soviet Russia not called as of 1937?

I'm not sure.

What was Soviet Russia called as of 1973?

I'm not sure.

What document changed the name of Russia in 1973?

I'm not sure.

What document kept the name of Russia in 1937?

I'm not sure.

The final name for the republic during the Soviet era was rejected by the Russian Constitution of 1937

I'm not sure.


On March 3, 1944, on the orders of Stalin, the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was disbanded and its population forcibly deported upon the accusations of collaboration with the invaders and separatism. The territory of the ASSR was divided between other administrative unit of Russian SFSR and the Georgian SSR.

What state was dissolved on March 3, 1944?

the Chechen-Ingush ASSR

Who ordered the deportation of the residents of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR?

Stalin

Why were the residents of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR deported?

accusations of collaboration with the invaders and separatism

Along with the RSFSR, what republic received territory from the former Chechen-Ingush ASSR?

Georgian SSR

What state was created on March 3, 1944?

I'm not sure.

Who ordered the naturalization of the residents of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR?

I'm not sure.

Why were the residents of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR not deported?

I'm not sure.

Along with the RSFSR, what republic didn't receive territory from the former Chechen-Ingush ASSR?

I'm not sure.

What state was dissolved on March 4, 1943?

I'm not sure.


On October 11, 1944, the Tuvan People's Republic joined the Russian SFSR as the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast, in 1961 becoming an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

What was the Tuvan People's Republic renamed when it joined the RSFSR?

Tuvan Autonomous Oblast

On what date did the Tuvan People's Republic join the Russian SFSR?

October 11, 1944

What did the former Tuvan People's Republic become in 1961?

an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

What was the Tuvan People's Republic renamed when it exited the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

On what date did the Tuvan People's Republic leave the Russian SFSR?

I'm not sure.

What did the former Tuvan People's Republic become in 1916?

I'm not sure.

What happened on October 11, 1941?

I'm not sure.

What wasn't renamed to Tuvan Autonomous Oblast?

I'm not sure.


After reconquering Estonia and Latvia in 1944, the Russian SFSR annexed their easternmost territories around Ivangorod and within the modern Pechorsky and Pytalovsky Districts in 1944-1945.

Along with Estonia, what country was taken over by the Russian SFSR in 1944?

Latvia

What modern districts of Estonia and Latvia were annexed by the RSFSR in 1944?

Pechorsky and Pytalovsky Districts

Near what town did the RSFSR annex territory in 1944?

Ivangorod

Along with Estonia, what country was left alone by the Russian SFSR in 1944?

I'm not sure.

What modern districts of Estonia and Latvia were annexed by the RSFSR in 1934?

I'm not sure.

Near what town did the RSFSR leave territory in 1944?

I'm not sure.

What happened to Estonia and Latvia in 1494?

I'm not sure.

Along with Latvia, what country was traded over by the Russian SFSR in 1944?

I'm not sure.


At the end of World War II Soviet troops occupied southern Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands, making them part of the RSFSR. The status of the southernmost Kurils remains in dispute with Japan.

Along with Sakhalin Island, what islands were occupied by the Soviets after the Second World War?

Kuril Islands

What administrative division did Sakhalin Island become a part of?

the RSFSR

The ownership of what islands are disputed with Japan?

the southernmost Kurils

Along with Sakhalin Island, what islands were occupied by the Soviets after the First World War?

I'm not sure.

Along with Sakhalin Island, what islands were not occupied by the Soviets after the Second World War?

I'm not sure.

What administrative division did Sakhalin Island not become a part of?

I'm not sure.

What military division did Sakhalin Island become a part of?

I'm not sure.

The ownership of what islands are not disputed with Japan?

I'm not sure.


On April 17, 1946, the Kaliningrad Oblast — the northern portion of the former German province of East Prussia—was annexed by the Soviet Union and made part of the Russian SFSR.

On what date was Kaliningrad Oblast annexed?

April 17, 1946

What province of Germany did Kaliningrad Oblast form a part of?

East Prussia

What administrative division did Kaliningrad Oblast become a part of?

the Russian SFSR

On what date was Kaliningrad Oblast trade away?

I'm not sure.

On what date was Kaliningrad Ozarks annexed?

I'm not sure.

What state of Germany did Kaliningrad Oblast form a part of?

I'm not sure.

What province of Germany did Kaliningrad Oblast cease to be a part of?

I'm not sure.

What administrative division did Kaliningrad Oblast leave?

I'm not sure.


On February 8, 1955, Malenkov was officially demoted to deputy Prime Minister. As First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev's authority was significantly enhanced by Malenkov's demotion.

Who was demoted on February 8, 1955?

Malenkov

To what position was Malenkov demoted?

deputy Prime Minister

What position was held by Nikita Khrushchev?

First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party

Who benefited from the demotion of Malenkov?

Nikita Khrushchev

Who was promoted on February 8, 1955?

I'm not sure.

Who was demoted on February 8, 1945?

I'm not sure.

To what position was Malenkov promoted?

I'm not sure.

What position wasn't held by Nikita Khrushchev?

I'm not sure.

Who benefited from the promotion of Malenkov?

I'm not sure.


On January 9, 1957, Karachay Autonomous Oblast and Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic were restored by Khrushchev and they were transferred from the Georgian SSR back to the Russian SFSR.

When was the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic transferred from the Georgian SSR?

January 9, 1957

What territory was transferred along with the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic?

Karachay Autonomous Oblast

Who transferred the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1957?

Khrushchev

To what republic was the Karachay Autonomous Oblast transferred in 1957?

the Russian SFSR

What republic had the Karachay Autonomous Oblast previously been a part of?

the Georgian SSR

When was the Chechen-Irish Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic transferred from the Georgian SSR?

I'm not sure.

What territory was kept along with the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic?

I'm not sure.

Who transferred the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1975?

I'm not sure.

To what republic was the Karachay Autonomous Oblast kept from in 1957?

I'm not sure.

What republic had the Karachay Autonomous Oblast previously not been a part of?

I'm not sure.


In 1964, Nikita Khrushchev was removed from his position of power and replaced with Leonid Brezhnev. Under his rule, the Russian SFSR and the rest of the Soviet Union went through an era of stagnation. Even after he died in 1982, the era didn’t end until Mikhail Gorbachev took power and introduced liberal reforms in Soviet society.

Who lost power in 1964?

Nikita Khrushchev

Who assumed a position of power in 1964?

Leonid Brezhnev

When did Leonid Brezhnev die?

Whose assumption of power ended the era of stagnation?

Mikhail Gorbachev

How did Mikhail Gorbachev end the era of stagnation?

introduced liberal reforms in Soviet society

Who lost power in 1946?

I'm not sure.

Who assumed a position of power in 1946?

I'm not sure.

When did Leonard Brezhnev die?

I'm not sure.

Whose assumption of power continued the era of stagnation?

I'm not sure.

How did Mikhail Gorbachev begin the era of stagnation?

I'm not sure.


On June 12, 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies of the Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian SFSR, which was the beginning of the "War of Laws", pitting the Soviet Union against the Russian Federation and other constituent republics.

On what date was the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian SFSR adopted?

June 12, 1990

What body passed the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian SFSR?

the Congress of People's Deputies of the Republic

What was the name of the period inaugurated by the passage of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian SFSR?

the "War of Laws"

What government was the Russian Federation fighting against during this period?

the Soviet Union

On what date was the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian SFSR rejected?

I'm not sure.

What body rejected the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian SFSR?

I'm not sure.

What was the name of the period ended by the passage of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian SFSR?

I'm not sure.

What government was the Russian Federation fighting alongside during this period?

I'm not sure.

What government was the Russian Federation not fighting against during this period?

I'm not sure.


On March 17, 1991, an all-Russian referendum created the post of President of the RSFSR. On June 12, Boris Yeltsin was elected President of Russia by popular vote. During an unsuccessful coup attempt on August 19–21, 1991 in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union and Russia, President of Russia Yeltsin strongly supported the President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev.

On what date was the office of President of the RSFSR created?

March 17, 1991

Who was the first President of the RSFSR?

Boris Yeltsin

Who was the President of the Soviet Union in 1991?

Mikhail Gorbachev

On what date did the first election for President of the RSFSR occur?

June 12

During what period was there an attempted coup in Moscow?

August 19–21, 1991

On what date was the office of President of the RSFSR not created?

I'm not sure.

Who wasn't the first President of the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

Who was the President of the Soviet Union in 1919?

I'm not sure.

On what date did the second election for President of the RSFSR occur?

I'm not sure.

During what period was there an attempted coup in Kiev?

I'm not sure.


On August 23, after the failure of GKChP, in the presence of Gorbachev, Yeltsin signed a decree suspending all activity by the Communist Party of the Russian SFSR in the territory of Russia. On November 6, he went further, banning the Communist Parties of the USSR and the RSFSR from the territory of the RSFSR.

On what date was the Communist Party of the Russian SFSR suspended?

August 23

Who signed the decree suspending the Communist Party of the Russian SFSR?

Yeltsin

On what date was the Communist Parties of the USSR banned from operating in the RSFSR?

November 6

Aside from Yeltsin, what notable figure was present at the signing of the August 23 decree?

Gorbachev

On what date was the Communist Party of the Russian SFSR upheld?

I'm not sure.

Who didn't sign the decree suspending the Communist Party of the Russian SFSR?

I'm not sure.

Who signed the decree upholding the Communist Party of the Russian SFSR?

I'm not sure.

On what date was the Socialist Parties of the USSR banned from operating in the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

Aside from Yeltsin, what notable figure was present at the signing of the August 3 decree?

I'm not sure.


On December 8, 1991, at Viskuli near Brest (Belarus), the President of the Russian SFSR and the heads of Byelorussian SSR and Ukrainian SSR signed the "Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States" (known in media as Belavezha Accords). The document, consisting of a preamble and fourteen articles, stated that the Soviet Union ceased to exist as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality. However, based on the historical community of peoples, relations between them, given the bilateral treaties, the desire for a democratic rule of law, the intention to develop their relations based on mutual recognition and respect for state sovereignty, the parties agreed to the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. On December 12, the agreement was ratified by the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR by an overwhelming majority: 188 votes for, 6 against, 7 abstentions. On the same day, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR denounced the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and recalled all Russian deputies from the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. The legality of this act is the subject of discussions because, according to the 1978 Constitution (Basic Law) of the Russian SFSR, the Russian Supreme Soviet had no right to do so. However, by this time the Soviet government had been rendered more or less impotent, and was in no position to object. Although the December 12 vote is sometimes reckoned as the moment that the RSFSR seceded from the collapsing Soviet Union, this is not the case. It appears that the RSFSR took the line that it was not possible to secede from an entity that no longer existed.

In what country is Viskuli located?

Belarus

On what date was the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed?

December 8, 1991

What is another name for the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States?

Belavezha Accords

What body ratified the Belavezha Accords on December 12?

the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR

The Belavezha Accords consisted of how many articles?

fourteen

In what country is Viskuli not located?

I'm not sure.

On what date was the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States rejected?

I'm not sure.

What isn't another name for the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States?

I'm not sure.

What body ratified the Belavezha Accords on December 21?

I'm not sure.

What body rejected the Belavezha Accords on December 12?

I'm not sure.


On December 24, Yeltsin informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations that by agreement of the member states of the CIS Russian Federation would assume the membership of the Soviet Union in all UN organs (including permanent membership in the UN Security Council). Thus, Russia is considered to be an original member of the UN (since October 24, 1945) along with Ukraine (Ukrainian SSR) and Belarus (Byelorussian SSR). On December 25—just hours after Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union—the Russian SFSR was renamed the Russian Federation (Russia), reflecting that it was now a sovereign state with Yeltsin assuming the Presidency. The change was originally published on January 6, 1992 (Rossiyskaya Gazeta). According to law, during 1992, it was allowed to use the old name of the RSFSR for official business (forms, seals and stamps). The Russian Federation's Constitution (Fundamental Law) of 1978, though with the 1991–1992 Amendements, remained in effect until the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis.

When did the Russian Federation assume the Soviet Union's membership in the UN?

December 24

On what day did Gorbachev give up the presidency of the Soviet Union?

December 25

What was the new name given to the Russian SFSR after the resignation of Gorbachev?

the Russian Federation

Who was the first president of the Russian Federation?

Yeltsin

In what periodical was the new sovereign status of the Russian Federation first published?

Rossiyskaya Gazeta

When did the Russian Federation reject the Soviet Union's membership in the UN?

I'm not sure.

On what day did Gorbachev keep the presidency of the Soviet Union?

I'm not sure.

What was the new name given to the Russian SFSR after the killing of Gorbachev?

I'm not sure.

Who wasn't the first president of the Russian Federation?

I'm not sure.

In what periodical was the new sovereign status of the Russian Federation last published?

I'm not sure.


The Government was known officially as the Council of People's Commissars (1917–1946), Council of Ministers (1946–1978) and Council of Ministers–Government (1978–1991). The first government was headed by Vladimir Lenin as "Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian SFSR" and the last by Boris Yeltsin as both head of government and head of state under the title "President".

What was the government of the RSFSR called up to 1946?

the Council of People's Commissars

What was the RSFSR government called starting in 1946?

Council of Ministers

When the Soviet Union ended in 1991, what was the RSFSR government called?

Council of Ministers–Government

Who led the first government of the RSFSR?

Vladimir Lenin

Who led the final government of the RSFSR?

Boris Yeltsin

What was the government of the RSFSR called up to 1964?

I'm not sure.

What was the RSFSR government called starting in 1964?

I'm not sure.

When the Soviet Union started in 1991, what was the RSFSR government called?

I'm not sure.

Who rejected the first government of the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

Who rejected the final government of the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.


The Russian SFSR was controlled by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, until the abortive 1991 August coup, which prompted President Yeltsin to suspend the recently created Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

What political organization controlled the RSFSR up to 1991?

the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

What event prompted the end to the control of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the RSFSR?

the abortive 1991 August coup

Who suspended the Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic?

Yeltsin

What political organization controlled the RSFSR up to 1919?

I'm not sure.

What political organization didn't control the RSFSR up to 1991?

I'm not sure.

What event prompted the start of the control of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the RSFSR?

I'm not sure.

Who didn't suspend the Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic?

I'm not sure.

Who suspended the Socialist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic?

I'm not sure.


Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born[N 3] scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone.

What is Bell most famous for inventing?

telephone

What year did Bell die?

What was special about his telephone?

practical

What is Bell's full name?

Alexander Graham Bell

What is Bell famous for inventing?

telephone


Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876.[N 4] Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.[N 5]

What were his relatives known for working on?

elocution and speech

What was interesting about his mother and wife?

deaf

What year did Bell get the patent for his telephone?

In what country did Bell patent his telephone?

U.S.

What did Bell never put in his study?

telephone


Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils and aeronautics. Although Bell was not one of the 33 founders of the National Geographic Society, he had a strong influence on the magazine while serving as the second president from January 7, 1898 until 1903.

How many people started the National Geographic Society?

Bell was the second president of what magazine?

National Geographic Society

What field did Bell later work in, apart from optical telecommunications and aeronautics?

hydrofoils

What year did Bell become President of the National Geographic magazine?


Alexander Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 3, 1847. The family home was at 16 South Charlotte Street, and has a stone inscription marking it as Alexander Graham Bell's birthplace. He had two brothers: Melville James Bell (1845–70) and Edward Charles Bell (1848–67), both of whom would die of tuberculosis. His father was Professor Alexander Melville Bell, a phonetician, and his mother was Eliza Grace (née Symonds). Born as just "Alexander Bell", at age 10 he made a plea to his father to have a middle name like his two brothers.[N 6] For his 11th birthday, his father acquiesced and allowed him to adopt the name "Graham", chosen out of respect for Alexander Graham, a Canadian being treated by his father who had become a family friend. To close relatives and friends he remained "Aleck".

What city was Bell born in?

Edinburgh

What material marks Bells family  home as his birthplace?

stone

What disease did his two brothers die of?

tuberculosis

At what age did Bell ask for a middle name?

What did those close to him call Bell?

Aleck


As a child, young Bell displayed a natural curiosity about his world, resulting in gathering botanical specimens as well as experimenting even at an early age. His best friend was Ben Herdman, a neighbor whose family operated a flour mill, the scene of many forays. Young Bell asked what needed to be done at the mill. He was told wheat had to be dehusked through a laborious process and at the age of 12, Bell built a homemade device that combined rotating paddles with sets of nail brushes, creating a simple dehusking machine that was put into operation and used steadily for a number of years. In return, John Herdman gave both boys the run of a small workshop in which to "invent".

What sort of things did Bell collect as a child?

botanical specimens

Who was Bell's closest friend as a child?

Ben Herdman

What sort of mill did Bell's neighbors run?

flour

Bell's dehusking machine combined what with nail brushes?

rotating paddles

What was Bell's reward for his dehusking machine?

small workshop


From his early years, Bell showed a sensitive nature and a talent for art, poetry, and music that was encouraged by his mother. With no formal training, he mastered the piano and became the family's pianist. Despite being normally quiet and introspective, he reveled in mimicry and "voice tricks" akin to ventriloquism that continually entertained family guests during their occasional visits. Bell was also deeply affected by his mother's gradual deafness, (she began to lose her hearing when he was 12) and learned a manual finger language so he could sit at her side and tap out silently the conversations swirling around the family parlour. He also developed a technique of speaking in clear, modulated tones directly into his mother's forehead wherein she would hear him with reasonable clarity. Bell's preoccupation with his mother's deafness led him to study acoustics.

Bell was gifted at art, poetry, and what?

music

What did Bell succeed at without being taught?

piano

How old was Bell when his mom started to go deaf?

What part of his mom's head would Bell talk into?

forehead

What did Bell research because of his mom's deafness?

acoustics


His family was long associated with the teaching of elocution: his grandfather, Alexander Bell, in London, his uncle in Dublin, and his father, in Edinburgh, were all elocutionists. His father published a variety of works on the subject, several of which are still well known, especially his The Standard Elocutionist (1860), which appeared in Edinburgh in 1868. The Standard Elocutionist appeared in 168 British editions and sold over a quarter of a million copies in the United States alone. In this treatise, his father explains his methods of how to instruct deaf-mutes (as they were then known) to articulate words and read other people's lip movements to decipher meaning. Bell's father taught him and his brothers not only to write Visible Speech but to identify any symbol and its accompanying sound. Bell became so proficient that he became a part of his father's public demonstrations and astounded audiences with his abilities. He could decipher Visible Speech representing virtually every language, including Latin, Scottish Gaelic, and even Sanskrit, accurately reciting written tracts without any prior knowledge of their pronunciation.

Where did Bell's uncle live?

Dublin

What was Bell's father most famous for publishing?

The Standard Elocutionist

Bell learned to accurately read lips even without knowing what?

pronunciation

The Standard Elocutionist was printed how many times?


As a young child, Bell, like his brothers, received his early schooling at home from his father. At an early age, however, he was enrolled at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, Scotland, which he left at age 15, completing only the first four forms. His school record was undistinguished, marked by absenteeism and lacklustre grades. His main interest remained in the sciences, especially biology, while he treated other school subjects with indifference, to the dismay of his demanding father. Upon leaving school, Bell travelled to London to live with his grandfather, Alexander Bell. During the year he spent with his grandfather, a love of learning was born, with long hours spent in serious discussion and study. The elder Bell took great efforts to have his young pupil learn to speak clearly and with conviction, the attributes that his pupil would need to become a teacher himself. At age 16, Bell secured a position as a "pupil-teacher" of elocution and music, in Weston House Academy, at Elgin, Moray, Scotland. Although he was enrolled as a student in Latin and Greek, he instructed classes himself in return for board and £10 per session. The following year, he attended the University of Edinburgh; joining his older brother Melville who had enrolled there the previous year. In 1868, not long before he departed for Canada with his family, Bell completed his matriculation exams and was accepted for admission to the University of London.

Who taught Bell when he was very young?

father

What school did Bell leave at 15?

Royal High School

What was Bell's favorite subject?

biology

How old was Bell when he became a "pupil-teacher"?


His father encouraged Bell's interest in speech and, in 1863, took his sons to see a unique automaton, developed by Sir Charles Wheatstone based on the earlier work of Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen. The rudimentary "mechanical man" simulated a human voice. Bell was fascinated by the machine and after he obtained a copy of von Kempelen's book, published in German, and had laboriously translated it, he and his older brother Melville built their own automaton head. Their father, highly interested in their project, offered to pay for any supplies and spurred the boys on with the enticement of a "big prize" if they were successful. While his brother constructed the throat and larynx, Bell tackled the more difficult task of recreating a realistic skull. His efforts resulted in a remarkably lifelike head that could "speak", albeit only a few words. The boys would carefully adjust the "lips" and when a bellows forced air through the windpipe, a very recognizable "Mama" ensued, to the delight of neighbors who came to see the Bell invention.

In what year did Bell's father take him to see an automaton?

Who created the automaton Bell saw?

Sir Charles Wheatstone

What did the automaton mimic?

human voice

Bell built his own automaton with who?

Melville

What part of the automaton did Bell create?

skull


Intrigued by the results of the automaton, Bell continued to experiment with a live subject, the family's Skye Terrier, "Trouve". After he taught it to growl continuously, Bell would reach into its mouth and manipulate the dog's lips and vocal cords to produce a crude-sounding "Ow ah oo ga ma ma". With little convincing, visitors believed his dog could articulate "How are you grandma?" More indicative of his playful nature, his experiments convinced onlookers that they saw a "talking dog". However, these initial forays into experimentation with sound led Bell to undertake his first serious work on the transmission of sound, using tuning forks to explore resonance.

What living thing did Bell use in his research?

Skye Terrier

What was Bell's pet's name?

Trouve

What phrase did people believe Bell's dog could say?

How are you grandma?

Bell investigated resonance using what?

tuning forks

What did Bell  instruct his dog to do?

growl continuously


At the age of 19, he wrote a report on his work and sent it to philologist Alexander Ellis, a colleague of his father (who would later be portrayed as Professor Henry Higgins in Pygmalion). Ellis immediately wrote back indicating that the experiments were similar to existing work in Germany, and also lent Bell a copy of Hermann von Helmholtz's work, The Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music.

Who did Bell get to read his work?

Alexander Ellis

What country was doing work similar to Bell's?

Germany

Who wrote The Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music?

Hermann von Helmholtz

How old was Bell when he wrote his paper?

What fictional character is based on Alexander Ellis?

Professor Henry Higgins


Dismayed to find that groundbreaking work had already been undertaken by Helmholtz who had conveyed vowel sounds by means of a similar tuning fork "contraption", he pored over the German scientist's book. Working from his own erroneous mistranslation of a French edition, Bell fortuitously then made a deduction that would be the underpinning of all his future work on transmitting sound, reporting: "Without knowing much about the subject, it seemed to me that if vowel sounds could be produced by electrical means, so could consonants, so could articulate speech." He also later remarked: "I thought that Helmholtz had done it ... and that my failure was due only to my ignorance of electricity. It was a valuable blunder ... If I had been able to read German in those days, I might never have commenced my experiments!"[N 7]

By what means did Bell conclude vowel sounds could be made?

electrical

What else besides vowels did Bell decide could be created?

consonants

What language was Bell happy he couldn't read?

German

What did Bell think he didn't know well enough?

electricity


In 1865, when the Bell family moved to London, Bell returned to Weston House as an assistant master and, in his spare hours, continued experiments on sound using a minimum of laboratory equipment. Bell concentrated on experimenting with electricity to convey sound and later installed a telegraph wire from his room in Somerset College to that of a friend. Throughout late 1867, his health faltered mainly through exhaustion. His younger brother, Edward "Ted," was similarly bed-ridden, suffering from tuberculosis. While Bell recovered (by then referring to himself in correspondence as "A.G. Bell") and served the next year as an instructor at Somerset College, Bath, England, his brother's condition deteriorated. Edward would never recover. Upon his brother's death, Bell returned home in 1867. His older brother Melville had married and moved out. With aspirations to obtain a degree at University College London, Bell considered his next years as preparation for the degree examinations, devoting his spare time at his family's residence to studying.

In what year did the Bell's move to London?

Where did Bell go in work in 1865?

Weston House

What building was Bell in?

Somerset College

How did Bell sign his letters?

A.G. Bell

In what year did Bell move home?


Helping his father in Visible Speech demonstrations and lectures brought Bell to Susanna E. Hull's private school for the deaf in South Kensington, London. His first two pupils were "deaf mute" girls who made remarkable progress under his tutelage. While his older brother seemed to achieve success on many fronts including opening his own elocution school, applying for a patent on an invention, and starting a family, Bell continued as a teacher. However, in May 1870, Melville died from complications due to tuberculosis, causing a family crisis. His father had also suffered a debilitating illness earlier in life and had been restored to health by a convalescence in Newfoundland. Bell's parents embarked upon a long-planned move when they realized that their remaining son was also sickly. Acting decisively, Alexander Melville Bell asked Bell to arrange for the sale of all the family property,[N 8] conclude all of his brother's affairs (Bell took over his last student, curing a pronounced lisp), and join his father and mother in setting out for the "New World". Reluctantly, Bell also had to conclude a relationship with Marie Eccleston, who, as he had surmised, was not prepared to leave England with him.

What city is Susanna E. Hull located in?

South Kensington

What sort of student attended Susanna E. Hull?

deaf

Who died in 1870?

Melville

Where did Bell's father go to recover from illness?

Newfoundland

What did Bell help his final student get rid of?

lisp


In 1870, at age 23, Bell, his brother's widow, Caroline (Margaret Ottaway), and his parents travelled on the SS Nestorian to Canada. After landing at Quebec City the Bells transferred to another steamer to Montreal and then boarded a train to Paris, Ontario, to stay with the Reverend Thomas Henderson, a family friend. After a brief stay with the Hendersons, the Bell family purchased a farm of 10.5 acres (42,000 m2) at Tutelo Heights (now called Tutela Heights), near Brantford, Ontario. The property consisted of an orchard, large farm house, stable, pigsty, hen-house, and a carriage house, which bordered the Grand River.[N 9]

How old was Bell when he went to Canada?

What boat did Bell travel on?

SS Nestorian

In what Canadian city did Bell first arrive?

Quebec City

What city did Bell arrive at by train?

Paris

How many acres was the farm the Bell's bought in Canada?


At the homestead, Bell set up his own workshop in the converted carriage house near to what he called his "dreaming place", a large hollow nestled in trees at the back of the property above the river. Despite his frail condition upon arriving in Canada, Bell found the climate and environs to his liking, and rapidly improved.[N 10] He continued his interest in the study of the human voice and when he discovered the Six Nations Reserve across the river at Onondaga, he learned the Mohawk language and translated its unwritten vocabulary into Visible Speech symbols. For his work, Bell was awarded the title of Honorary Chief and participated in a ceremony where he donned a Mohawk headdress and danced traditional dances.[N 11]

What building did Bell use as a workshop?

carriage house

What did Bell call his special spot in the back of the property?

dreaming place

What Native American language did Bell learn?

Mohawk

What special status did Bell get in the Mohawk tribe?

Honorary Chief

Where was the Six Nations Reserve located?

Onondaga


After setting up his workshop, Bell continued experiments based on Helmholtz's work with electricity and sound. He also modified a melodeon (a type of pump organ) so that it could transmit its music electrically over a distance. Once the family was settled in, both Bell and his father made plans to establish a teaching practice and in 1871, he accompanied his father to Montreal, where Melville was offered a position to teach his System of Visible Speech.

What did Bell rework to send music?

melodeon

What is a melodeon a kind of?

pump organ

When did Bell go to Montreal?

Who went with Bell to Montreal?

father

How did Bell's reworked melodeon send music?

electrically


Bell's father was invited by Sarah Fuller, principal of the Boston School for Deaf Mutes (which continues today as the public Horace Mann School for the Deaf), in Boston, Massachusetts, to introduce the Visible Speech System by providing training for Fuller's instructors, but he declined the post in favor of his son. Traveling to Boston in April 1871, Bell proved successful in training the school's instructors. He was subsequently asked to repeat the program at the American Asylum for Deaf-mutes in Hartford, Connecticut, and the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Who ran the Boston School for Deaf Mutes?

Sarah Fuller

What name does the Boston School for Deaf Mutes go by now?

the public Horace Mann School for the Deaf

What month did Bell go to Boston?

April

Bell trained who in Boston?

instructors

What city was the American Asylum in?

Hartford


Returning home to Brantford after six months abroad, Bell continued his experiments with his "harmonic telegraph".[N 12] The basic concept behind his device was that messages could be sent through a single wire if each message was transmitted at a different pitch, but work on both the transmitter and receiver was needed.

How many wires did Bell send a signal through?

For  his system to work, Bell had to change what about each code?

pitch

Bell needed to fix both the transmitter and what?

receiver

Where was Bell's home?

Brantford


Unsure of his future, he first contemplated returning to London to complete his studies, but decided to return to Boston as a teacher. His father helped him set up his private practice by contacting Gardiner Greene Hubbard, the president of the Clarke School for the Deaf for a recommendation. Teaching his father's system, in October 1872, Alexander Bell opened his "School of Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech" in Boston, which attracted a large number of deaf pupils, with his first class numbering 30 students. While he was working as a private tutor, one of his most famous pupils was Helen Keller, who came to him as a young child unable to see, hear, or speak. She was later to say that Bell dedicated his life to the penetration of that "inhuman silence which separates and estranges." In 1893, Keller performed the sod-breaking ceremony for the construction of the new Bell's new Volta Bureau, dedicated to "the increase and diffusion of knowledge relating to the deaf".

What city did Bell decide to return to?

Boston

In what year did Bell open his own school?

How many people were in Bell's first class?

Which of Bell's students is the most well known?

Helen Keller


Several influential people of the time, including Bell, viewed deafness as something that should be eradicated, and also believed that with resources and effort they could teach the deaf to speak and avoid the use of sign language, thus enabling their integration within the wider society from which many were often being excluded. In several schools, children were mistreated, for example by having their hands tied behind their backs so they could not communicate by signing—the only language they knew—in an attempt to force them to attempt oral communication. Owing to his efforts to suppress the teaching of sign language, Bell is often viewed negatively by those embracing Deaf culture.

Bell's goal was to instruct the deaf to speak and not use what?

sign language

What would happen so some children's hands in schools?

tied behind their backs

In what light to many pro-deaf people see Bell?

negative

What was the only language many deaf people had?

signing


In the following year, Bell became professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at the Boston University School of Oratory. During this period, he alternated between Boston and Brantford, spending summers in his Canadian home. At Boston University, Bell was "swept up" by the excitement engendered by the many scientists and inventors residing in the city. He continued his research in sound and endeavored to find a way to transmit musical notes and articulate speech, but although absorbed by his experiments, he found it difficult to devote enough time to experimentation. While days and evenings were occupied by his teaching and private classes, Bell began to stay awake late into the night, running experiment after experiment in rented facilities at his boarding house. Keeping "night owl" hours, he worried that his work would be discovered and took great pains to lock up his notebooks and laboratory equipment. Bell had a specially made table where he could place his notes and equipment inside a locking cover. Worse still, his health deteriorated as he suffered severe headaches. Returning to Boston in fall 1873, Bell made a fateful decision to concentrate on his experiments in sound.

With what school did Bell get his next teaching job?

Boston University School of Oratory.

What was Bell's discipline?

Vocal Physiology and Elocution

What did Bell do late at night?

experiments

What health condition did Bell start to have?

headaches

In what year did Bell start to focus on research into sound?


Deciding to give up his lucrative private Boston practice, Bell retained only two students, six-year-old "Georgie" Sanders, deaf from birth, and 15-year-old Mabel Hubbard. Each pupil would play an important role in the next developments. George's father, Thomas Sanders, a wealthy businessman, offered Bell a place to stay in nearby Salem with Georgie's grandmother, complete with a room to "experiment". Although the offer was made by George's mother and followed the year-long arrangement in 1872 where her son and his nurse had moved to quarters next to Bell's boarding house, it was clear that Mr. Sanders was backing the proposal. The arrangement was for teacher and student to continue their work together, with free room and board thrown in. Mabel was a bright, attractive girl who was ten years Bell's junior, but became the object of his affection. Having lost her hearing after a near-fatal bout of scarlet fever close to her fifth birthday,[N 13] she had learned to read lips but her father, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Bell's benefactor and personal friend, wanted her to work directly with her teacher.

Bell's two remaining students were "Georgie" Sanders and who?

Mabel Hubbard

What was Georgie's father's name?

Thomas Sanders

What disease made Mabel deaf?

scarlet fever

How old was Mabel when she became deaf?


By 1874, Bell's initial work on the harmonic telegraph had entered a formative stage, with progress made both at his new Boston "laboratory" (a rented facility) and at his family home in Canada a big success.[N 14] While working that summer in Brantford, Bell experimented with a "phonautograph", a pen-like machine that could draw shapes of sound waves on smoked glass by tracing their vibrations. Bell thought it might be possible to generate undulating electrical currents that corresponded to sound waves. Bell also thought that multiple metal reeds tuned to different frequencies like a harp would be able to convert the undulating currents back into sound. But he had no working model to demonstrate the feasibility of these ideas.

On what material did the phonautograph operate?

smoked glass

What kind of reed did Bell want to play with?

metal

What did Bell believe the reeds would turn the signal into?

sound

What instrument is a phonautograph similar to?

pen

In what year was Bell really working on his telegraph?


In 1874, telegraph message traffic was rapidly expanding and in the words of Western Union President William Orton, had become "the nervous system of commerce". Orton had contracted with inventors Thomas Edison and Elisha Gray to find a way to send multiple telegraph messages on each telegraph line to avoid the great cost of constructing new lines. When Bell mentioned to Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders that he was working on a method of sending multiple tones on a telegraph wire using a multi-reed device, the two wealthy patrons began to financially support Bell's experiments. Patent matters would be handled by Hubbard's patent attorney, Anthony Pollok.

What business was William Orton in charge of?

Western Union

In 1874 the telegraph was known as the what of commerce?

nervous system

What was the primary motivation for not building new telegraph lines?

cost

Thomas Edison and what other scientist were already asked to work on a better telegraph?

Elisha Gray


In March 1875, Bell and Pollok visited the famous scientist Joseph Henry, who was then director of the Smithsonian Institution, and asked Henry's advice on the electrical multi-reed apparatus that Bell hoped would transmit the human voice by telegraph. Henry replied that Bell had "the germ of a great invention". When Bell said that he did not have the necessary knowledge, Henry replied, "Get it!" That declaration greatly encouraged Bell to keep trying, even though he did not have the equipment needed to continue his experiments, nor the ability to create a working model of his ideas. However, a chance meeting in 1874 between Bell and Thomas A. Watson, an experienced electrical designer and mechanic at the electrical machine shop of Charles Williams, changed all that.

Who did Bell go to see in 1875?

Joseph Henry

Who ran the Smithsonian in 1875?

Joseph Henry

What was Henry's reply to Bell's statement that he lacked information to complete his telegraph?

Get it!

Who did Bell meet in 1874?

Thomas A. Watson

What kind of business did Watson work at?

electrical machine


With financial support from Sanders and Hubbard, Bell hired Thomas Watson as his assistant,[N 15] and the two of them experimented with acoustic telegraphy. On June 2, 1875, Watson accidentally plucked one of the reeds and Bell, at the receiving end of the wire, heard the overtones of the reed; overtones that would be necessary for transmitting speech. That demonstrated to Bell that only one reed or armature was necessary, not multiple reeds. This led to the "gallows" sound-powered telephone, which could transmit indistinct, voice-like sounds, but not clear speech.

Who did Bell take on to work with him?

Thomas Watson

What month and day did Watson and Bell have a breakthrough?

June 2

How many reeds did Bell conclude he needed?

What name was given to the telephone that sort of worked?

gallows

Who gave money to Bell and Watson?

Sanders and Hubbard


In 1875, Bell developed an acoustic telegraph and drew up a patent application for it. Since he had agreed to share U.S. profits with his investors Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders, Bell requested that an associate in Ontario, George Brown, attempt to patent it in Britain, instructing his lawyers to apply for a patent in the U.S. only after they received word from Britain (Britain would issue patents only for discoveries not previously patented elsewhere).

What did Bell promise to split with his financers?

U.S. profits

In what country other than the U.S. did Bell try to patent his telegraph?

Britain

Which country did Bell first try to get a patent?

Britain

Who did Bell ask to get a patent in Britain?

George Brown

What kind of telegraph did Bell create?

acoustic


Meanwhile, Elisha Gray was also experimenting with acoustic telegraphy and thought of a way to transmit speech using a water transmitter. On February 14, 1876, Gray filed a caveat with the U.S. Patent Office for a telephone design that used a water transmitter. That same morning, Bell's lawyer filed Bell's application with the patent office. There is considerable debate about who arrived first and Gray later challenged the primacy of Bell's patent. Bell was in Boston on February 14 and did not arrive in Washington until February 26.

What material did Elisha Gray use to convey sound?

water

On what date did Gray and Bell both put in for a patent?

February 14, 1876

On what day did Bell get to Washington?

February 26

What office in Washington did Bell and Gray visit?

U.S. Patent Office

What sort of machine did Bell and Gray both try to patent at the same time?

telephone


Bell's patent 174,465, was issued to Bell on March 7, 1876, by the U.S. Patent Office. Bell's patent covered "the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically ... by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sound" [N 16] Bell returned to Boston the same day and the next day resumed work, drawing in his notebook a diagram similar to that in Gray's patent caveat.

What number is Bell's patent?

On what date did Bell get his patent?

March 7, 1876

Bell's patent was for the method and what for transmitting vocal and other sounds telegraphically?

apparatus

On what day did Bell go back to Boston?

March 7, 1876

Bell sketched a design that looked like the work of who?

Gray


On March 10, 1876, three days after his patent was issued, Bell succeeded in getting his telephone to work, using a liquid transmitter similar to Gray's design. Vibration of the diaphragm caused a needle to vibrate in the water, varying the electrical resistance in the circuit. When Bell spoke the famous sentence "Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you" into the liquid transmitter, Watson, listening at the receiving end in an adjoining room, heard the words clearly.

What kind of transmitter did Bell put in his telephone?

liquid

How did Bell refer to his partner in his well known line?

Mr. Watson

What did the vibrations cause to change?

electrical resistance


Although Bell was, and still is, accused of stealing the telephone from Gray, Bell used Gray's water transmitter design only after Bell's patent had been granted, and only as a proof of concept scientific experiment, to prove to his own satisfaction that intelligible "articulate speech" (Bell's words) could be electrically transmitted. After March 1876, Bell focused on improving the electromagnetic telephone and never used Gray's liquid transmitter in public demonstrations or commercial use.

Bell implemented Gray's design as a what?

proof of concept

Bell stopped using the liquid-based method after what month?

March

Bell used his own design in all public demonstrations and what?

commercial use


The question of priority for the variable resistance feature of the telephone was raised by the examiner before he approved Bell's patent application. He told Bell that his claim for the variable resistance feature was also described in Gray's caveat. Bell pointed to a variable resistance device in Bell's previous application in which Bell described a cup of mercury, not water. Bell had filed the mercury application at the patent office a year earlier on February 25, 1875, long before Elisha Gray described the water device. In addition, Gray abandoned his caveat, and because he did not contest Bell's priority, the examiner approved Bell's patent on March 3, 1876. Gray had reinvented the variable resistance telephone, but Bell was the first to write down the idea and the first to test it in a telephone.

What part of the telephone was investigated by the patent officer?

variable resistance

When did Bell put in his prior patent?

February 25, 1875

What liquid did Bell use in his first application?

mercury


The patent examiner, Zenas Fisk Wilber, later stated in an affidavit that he was an alcoholic who was much in debt to Bell's lawyer, Marcellus Bailey, with whom he had served in the Civil War. He claimed he showed Gray's patent caveat to Bailey. Wilber also claimed (after Bell arrived in Washington D.C. from Boston) that he showed Gray's caveat to Bell and that Bell paid him $100. Bell claimed they discussed the patent only in general terms, although in a letter to Gray, Bell admitted that he learned some of the technical details. Bell denied in an affidavit that he ever gave Wilber any money.

Who declared himself an alcoholic?

Zenas Fisk Wilber

In what war did Wilber and Bailey fight together?

Civil War

How much did Wilber say Bell gave him in order to look at Gray's paperwork?

What did Bell only admit to knowing in a letter?

technical details


Continuing his experiments in Brantford, Bell brought home a working model of his telephone. On August 3, 1876, from the telegraph office in Mount Pleasant five miles (eight km) away from Brantford, Bell sent a tentative telegram indicating that he was ready. With curious onlookers packed into the office as witnesses, faint voices were heard replying. The following night, he amazed guests as well as his family when a message was received at the Bell home from Brantford, four miles (six km) distant, along an improvised wire strung up along telegraph lines and fences, and laid through a tunnel. This time, guests at the household distinctly heard people in Brantford reading and singing. These experiments clearly proved that the telephone could work over long distances.

From what city did Bell send his first message?

Mount Pleasant

Bell sent messages over wires hooked onto telegraph lines and what?

fences

What did the group at the Bells house hear other people doing?

reading and singing


Bell and his partners, Hubbard and Sanders, offered to sell the patent outright to Western Union for $100,000. The president of Western Union balked, countering that the telephone was nothing but a toy. Two years later, he told colleagues that if he could get the patent for $25 million he would consider it a bargain. By then, the Bell company no longer wanted to sell the patent. Bell's investors would become millionaires, while he fared well from residuals and at one point had assets of nearly one million dollars.

How much did Bell et al. try to sell his patent for?

Who did Bell et al. try to sell his patent to?

Western Union

What did the President think the telephone was, such that he refused to buy the patent?

a toy

How much the the President of Western Union want to pay for the patent later on?

$25 million


Bell began a series of public demonstrations and lectures to introduce the new invention to the scientific community as well as the general public. A short time later, his demonstration of an early telephone prototype at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia brought the telephone to international attention. Influential visitors to the exhibition included Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Later Bell had the opportunity to demonstrate the invention personally to Sir William Thomson (later, Lord Kelvin), a renowned Scottish scientist, as well as to Queen Victoria, who had requested a private audience at Osborne House, her Isle of Wight home. She called the demonstration "most extraordinary". The enthusiasm surrounding Bell's public displays laid the groundwork for universal acceptance of the revolutionary device.

In what city was the 1876 Centennial Exposition?

Philadelphia

What important person saw the telephone at the Centennial Exposition?

Emperor Pedro II

Pedro II was the Emperor of what Country?

Brazil

Which Queen did Bell present his invention to?

Victoria


The Bell Telephone Company was created in 1877, and by 1886, more than 150,000 people in the U.S. owned telephones. Bell Company engineers made numerous other improvements to the telephone, which emerged as one of the most successful products ever. In 1879, the Bell company acquired Edison's patents for the carbon microphone from Western Union. This made the telephone practical for longer distances, and it was no longer necessary to shout to be heard at the receiving telephone.

In what year was the Bell Telephone Company founded?

How many people in the United States had a telephone by 1886?

In what year did Bell get some of Edison's patents?

What addition let people stop yelling into the telephone?

carbon microphone

What company did Bell acquire the carbon microphone from?

Western Union


In January 1915, Bell made the first ceremonial transcontinental telephone call. Calling from the AT&T head office at 15 Dey Street in New York City, Bell was heard by Thomas Watson at 333 Grant Avenue in San Francisco. The New York Times reported:

In what month and year did Bell telephone across the country?

January 1915

What company office did Bell make the original cross country phone call from?

AT&T

What city did Bell make the first cross country call from?

New York

What city did Bell make the first cross country call to?

San Francisco

Who was on the other end of the first cross country phone call?

Thomas Watson


As is sometimes common in scientific discoveries, simultaneous developments can occur, as evidenced by a number of inventors who were at work on the telephone. Over a period of 18 years, the Bell Telephone Company faced 587 court challenges to its patents, including five that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, but none was successful in establishing priority over the original Bell patent and the Bell Telephone Company never lost a case that had proceeded to a final trial stage. Bell's laboratory notes and family letters were the key to establishing a long lineage to his experiments. The Bell company lawyers successfully fought off myriad lawsuits generated initially around the challenges by Elisha Gray and Amos Dolbear. In personal correspondence to Bell, both Gray and Dolbear had acknowledged his prior work, which considerably weakened their later claims.

During how many years did the Bell Company battle lawsuits?

How many times were Bell's patents contested?

How many of the court cases wound up at the Supreme Court?

Elisha Gray and what other man were behind many of the court cases?

Amos Dolbear


On January 13, 1887, the U,S. Government moved to annul the patent issued to Bell on the grounds of fraud and misrepresentation. After a series of decisions and reversals, the Bell company won a decision in the Supreme Court, though a couple of the original claims from the lower court cases were left undecided. By the time that the trial wound its way through nine years of legal battles, the U.S. prosecuting attorney had died and the two Bell patents (No. 174,465 dated March 7, 1876 and No. 186,787 dated January 30, 1877) were no longer in effect, although the presiding judges agreed to continue the proceedings due to the case's importance as a "precedent". With a change in administration and charges of conflict of interest (on both sides) arising from the original trial, the US Attorney General dropped the lawsuit on November 30, 1897 leaving several issues undecided on the merits.

In 1887 the US Government wanted to undo Bell's patent due to fraud and what?

misrepresentation

The US Government lost the bid to overturn Bell's patent in what court?

Supreme Court

How many years did Bell and the US Government fight in court?

What excuse did the judges have for the trial despite the fact that the patents had expired?

precedent

On what date did the US Government stop legal action?

November 30, 1897


During a deposition filed for the 1887 trial, Italian inventor Antonio Meucci also claimed to have created the first working model of a telephone in Italy in 1834. In 1886, in the first of three cases in which he was involved, Meucci took the stand as a witness in the hopes of establishing his invention's priority. Meucci's evidence in this case was disputed due to a lack of material evidence for his inventions as his working models were purportedly lost at the laboratory of American District Telegraph (ADT) of New York, which was later incorporated as a subsidiary of Western Union in 1901. Meucci's work, like many other inventors of the period, was based on earlier acoustic principles and despite evidence of earlier experiments, the final case involving Meucci was eventually dropped upon Meucci's death. However, due to the efforts of Congressman Vito Fossella, the U.S. House of Representatives on June 11, 2002 stated that Meucci's "work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged", even though this did not put an end to a still contentious issue.[N 17] Some modern scholars do not agree with the claims that Bell's work on the telephone was influenced by Meucci's inventions.[N 18]

Who claimed to have invented the in 1834?

Antonio Meucci

How many court trials did Meucci participate in?

At what company were Meucci's prototypes supposedly lost?

American District Telegraph (ADT)

In what year did Western Union absorb ADT?

What event caused Meucci's trials to be dropped?

death


The value of the Bell patent was acknowledged throughout the world, and patent applications were made in most major countries, but when Bell had delayed the German patent application, the electrical firm of Siemens & Halske (S&H) managed to set up a rival manufacturer of Bell telephones under their own patent. The Siemens company produced near-identical copies of the Bell telephone without having to pay royalties. The establishment of the International Bell Telephone Company in Brussels, Belgium in 1880, as well as a series of agreements in other countries eventually consolidated a global telephone operation. The strain put on Bell by his constant appearances in court, necessitated by the legal battles, eventually resulted in his resignation from the company.[N 19]

Because of their patent, what didn't Siemens & Halske have to give Bell?

royalties

What was the home city for the International Bell Telephone Company?

Brussels

In what year was the International Bell Telephone Company founded?


On July 11, 1877, a few days after the Bell Telephone Company was established, Bell married Mabel Hubbard (1857–1923) at the Hubbard estate in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His wedding present to his bride was to turn over 1,487 of his 1,497 shares in the newly formed Bell Telephone Company. Shortly thereafter, the newlyweds embarked on a year-long honeymoon in Europe. During that excursion, Bell took a handmade model of his telephone with him, making it a "working holiday". The courtship had begun years earlier; however, Bell waited until he was more financially secure before marrying. Although the telephone appeared to be an "instant" success, it was not initially a profitable venture and Bell's main sources of income were from lectures until after 1897. One unusual request exacted by his fiancée was that he use "Alec" rather than the family's earlier familiar name of "Aleck". From 1876, he would sign his name "Alec Bell". They had four children:

Who did Bell marry in 1877?

Mabel Hubbard

How many children did Bell and Mabel have?

Where did Bell and his wife go on their honeymoon?

Europe

Before 1897, what did Bell get most of his money from?

lectures


The Bell family home was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until 1880 when Bell's father-in-law bought a house in Washington, D.C., and later in 1882 bought a home in the same city for Bell's family, so that they could be with him while he attended to the numerous court cases involving patent disputes.

In what year did Mabel's father move to Washington D.C.?

In what year did Bell acquire a house in D.C.?

Where did Bell and Mabel live before 1880?

Cambridge, Massachusetts

What did Bell have to go to court for in D.C.?

patent disputes


Bell was a British subject throughout his early life in Scotland and later in Canada until 1882, when he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1915, he characterized his status as: "I am not one of those hyphenated Americans who claim allegiance to two countries." Despite this declaration, Bell has been proudly claimed as a "native son" by all three countries he resided in: the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

In what year did Bell officially become an American?

What was Bell's original nationality?

British

Besides the US and UK, what other country claims Bell as a citizen?

Canada

What does Bell call people who are citizens of two countries?

hyphenated


By 1885, a new summer retreat was contemplated. That summer, the Bells had a vacation on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, spending time at the small village of Baddeck. Returning in 1886, Bell started building an estate on a point across from Baddeck, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. By 1889, a large house, christened The Lodge was completed and two years later, a larger complex of buildings, including a new laboratory, were begun that the Bells would name Beinn Bhreagh (Gaelic: beautiful mountain) after Bell's ancestral Scottish highlands.[N 21] Bell also built the Bell Boatyard on the estate, employing up to 40 people building experimental craft as well as wartime lifeboats and workboats for the Royal Canadian Navy and pleasure craft for the Bell family. An enthusiastic boater, Bell and his family sailed or rowed a long series of vessels on Bras d'Or Lake, ordering additional vessels from the H.W. Embree and Sons boatyard in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. In his final, and some of his most productive years, Bell split his residency between Washington, D.C., where he and his family initially resided for most of the year, and at Beinn Bhreagh where they spent increasing amounts of time.

What Island in Nova Scotia did the Bells go to in 1885?

Breton Island

In 1886, what lake did Bell start building a house near?

Bras d'Or

What did the Bells call the house completed in 1889?

The Lodge

How many people worked for the Bell Boatyard?


Until the end of his life, Bell and his family would alternate between the two homes, but Beinn Bhreagh would, over the next 30 years, become more than a summer home as Bell became so absorbed in his experiments that his annual stays lengthened. Both Mabel and Bell became immersed in the Baddeck community and were accepted by the villagers as "their own".[N 22] The Bells were still in residence at Beinn Bhreagh when the Halifax Explosion occurred on December 6, 1917. Mabel and Bell mobilized the community to help victims in Halifax.

Where did the Bells live when the Halifax Explosion happened?

Beinn Bhreagh

On what day did the Halifax Explosion happen?

December 6, 1917

Which of their two homes did the Bells start spending more time as Bell aged?

Beinn Bhreagh

What city adopted the Bells?

Baddeck

What did the Bells do to help the victims in Halifax?

mobilized the community


Although Alexander Graham Bell is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, his interests were extremely varied. According to one of his biographers, Charlotte Gray, Bell's work ranged "unfettered across the scientific landscape" and he often went to bed voraciously reading the Encyclopædia Britannica, scouring it for new areas of interest. The range of Bell's inventive genius is represented only in part by the 18 patents granted in his name alone and the 12 he shared with his collaborators. These included 14 for the telephone and telegraph, four for the photophone, one for the phonograph, five for aerial vehicles, four for "hydroairplanes" and two for selenium cells. Bell's inventions spanned a wide range of interests and included a metal jacket to assist in breathing, the audiometer to detect minor hearing problems, a device to locate icebergs, investigations on how to separate salt from seawater, and work on finding alternative fuels.

What series of books does Gray say Bell would go to sleep reading?

Encyclopædia Britannica

How many solo patents did Bell get?

How many patents did Bell co-author?


Bell worked extensively in medical research and invented techniques for teaching speech to the deaf. During his Volta Laboratory period, Bell and his associates considered impressing a magnetic field on a record as a means of reproducing sound. Although the trio briefly experimented with the concept, they could not develop a workable prototype. They abandoned the idea, never realizing they had glimpsed a basic principle which would one day find its application in the tape recorder, the hard disc and floppy disc drive and other magnetic media.

What famous lab did Bell spend time working for?

Volta

What type of energy did Bell investigate at the Volta Laboratory?

magnetic

The magnetic field is part of what sort of recorder?

tape recorder


Bell's own home used a primitive form of air conditioning, in which fans blew currents of air across great blocks of ice. He also anticipated modern concerns with fuel shortages and industrial pollution. Methane gas, he reasoned, could be produced from the waste of farms and factories. At his Canadian estate in Nova Scotia, he experimented with composting toilets and devices to capture water from the atmosphere. In a magazine interview published shortly before his death, he reflected on the possibility of using solar panels to heat houses.

What form of water played a part in Bell's home cooling system?

ice

What did Bell think could be collected from farm and factory byproduct?

Methane gas

What kind of toilet did Bell work on?

composting

Right before his death, what kind of energy did he speculate about?

solar