Charles J. Bell (businessman)
Charles James Bell (April 12, 1858–October 2, 1929)[1] was an Irish-born Canadian and American businessman, first cousin of Alexander Graham Bell, son-in-law of Gardiner Greene Hubbard, nephew of Alexander Melville Bell[2] and brother of Chichester Bell. He was a co-founder of the National Geographic Society.
Biography
Bell was born on April 12, 1858 in Dublin, Ireland,[3] to Professor David Charles Bell (1817–1903) and Ellen Adine Highland.[1] He attended Wesley College before emigrating to Canada in 1873.
He moved to Washington DC in 1880 to be his cousin's secretary in the new Bell Telephone Company. In 1881 he traveled to Paris to set up branches of the company in Europe.
National Geographic Society
In 1888 Bell co-founded the National Geographic Society, and was its first treasurer. He bought the property for the headquarters of the society, where it still is.[citation needed]
Personal life
In 1881, Bell married Roberta Hubbard,[1] daughter of Gardiner Greene Hubbard. She died giving childbirth in 1885, and after her death Bell married her sister Grace Hubbard.[1]
By his first wife Roberta, his children were:
- Helen Aidene Bell (b. 1882)
- Grace Hubbard Bell (1884–1979)
By his second wife Grace (sister of Roberta), his children were:
- Gardiner Hubbard Bell (1890–1892)
- Charles James Bell (1891–1892)
- Robert Wolcott Bell (1893–1977)
He died on October 2, 1929.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Ancestry.com Historical Person Overview: Charles James Bell. Retrieved May 2017
- ^ Hunter, Cathy (June 8, 2012). "Charles J. Bell: Family Banker and National Geographic Founder". National Geographic. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012.
- ^ . . Dublin: Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. – via Wikisource.
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- 1858 births
- 1929 deaths
- National Geographic Society founders
- People from Dublin (city)
- Scottish emigrants to the United States
- Businesspeople from Washington, D.C.
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- People educated at Wesley College, Dublin
- British business biography stubs
- American business biography, 1850s birth stubs