Bell attended McGill University, Montreal, and studied under John William Dawson.
He is considered Canada’s greatest exploring scientist, having named over 3,000 geographical features. As a 15-year-old he worked as a summer assistant to Sir William Edmond Logan with the Geological Survey of Canada. Even as he started postsecondary education he continued to work summers with the Geographical Survey, heading his own survey party in 1859.
He went on the study for two years at the University of Edinburgh.
In 1863, Bell became a chemistry and natural sciences professor at Queen's College, Kingston, Ontario. He continued to do fieldwork for the Geographical Survey over the summers.
In 1867, he left Queen's to join the Geographical Survey full-time. In 1869, the Geographical Survey made Bell a permanent officer
He spent the rest of his career with the Geographical Survey.
He has promoted to Assistant Director (1877), Chief Geologist (1890), then Acting Director (1901-1906). He was disappointed in never having been appointed Director of the Survey. Bell led many extensive explorations in northern Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, the eastern Arctic, Saskatchewan prairies, and Athabasca oil sands.
He is credited with mapping the rivers between Hudson Bay and Lake Superior.
Bell’s work was appreciated because he collected specimens and made notes on geology, flora and fauna, climate and soil, indigenous populations, and exploitable resources. Bell wrote over 200 reports and papers, mostly on geology, biology, geography and ethnology.
In 1878, he earned a medical degree from McGill University. In November 1908, Bell officially retired.
Bell assembled a private library estimated to contain 26 tons of books and artifacts to support his work over his life.
The collection contained rock specimens and hundreds of books on various subjects ranging from natural history texts, medical texts, geological reports, native language and culture texts, and books on the exploration of North America. lieutenant also contained research and professional periodicals, several Canadian newspapers and several hundred reprints of scientific and professional reports from other researchers. On October 28, 1962, some of this collection was damaged or destroyed in a fire in Ottawa.
Subsequently the surviving collection was dispersed to family, private collectors, and institutions.
The majority went to the National Archives of Canada.
Royal Society; Royal Society of Canada.