The Canadian government has revised the historical designation of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, sparking controversy among his descendants who contest the updated narrative concerning his views on deafness and eugenics. The wording on a commemorative plaque at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, is set to be changed.
Bell, who patented the telephone in 1876 and later settled in Canada, was designated a National Historic Person in 1977. However, Canada's Historic Sites and Monuments Board now states that Bell advocated for teaching deaf individuals to communicate through speech and lip-reading rather than sign language. The board also determined that Bell was associated with the eugenics movement, which promoted selective breeding to improve the human race, and reportedly argued against the intermarriage of congenitally deaf people to prevent the hereditary transmission of deafness.
The board's report indicated that designations are periodically reviewed to align with current scholarship and diverse perspectives. This re-evaluation has drawn sharp criticism from Bell's descendants.
Sara Grosvenor, president of the Alexander and Mabel Bell Legacy Foundation and Bell's great-granddaughter, asserted that the attributed views are based on inaccurate information found online. She stated that Bell supported individuals with hearing impairments choosing their preferred communication methods and was not against signing. Grosvenor also refuted the eugenicist label, explaining that Bell, as a scientist of his era, studied genetics, including its application to animal husbandry to aid farmers. She maintained that Bell encouraged deaf individuals to marry whomever they wished and that contemporary interpretations often selectively use information to support specific theories.
Edwin Grosvenor, Bell's great-grandson and author of books on his ancestor, echoed these sentiments, noting the circulation of misinformation. He highlighted that Bell married a deaf woman, Mabel, and communicated with her using sign language, distinguishing it from the more rudimentary form of signing prevalent at the time. He clarified that Bell's opposition was to the specific method of manual alphabet spelling used then, not to modern sign language.
Initially, the commemorative plaque described Bell as a teacher, scientist, and inventor dedicated to the benefit of mankind.