Bell studied sound waves, the mechanics of speech, and speech therapy. Having moved to the USA in the early 1870s, he developed his ideas for transmitting speech electrically, and gave the first public demonstration of the telephone in 1876; he founded the Bell Telephone Company the following year. He also invented the gramophone (1897) as a successful rival to Thomas Edison’s phonograph. He later carried out research in a number of other areas, including hydrofoil speedboats and aeronautics.