technical images and linear text

So in reading the English Mechanic for an upcoming assignment, sitting in the Thomas Fisher rare books library at U of T, I came across an entry on the telephone, and wanted to confirm its invention date. While perusing wiki, I noticed a funny link, and followed it, to find two intriguing things.

The first being that the Canadian government has passed not one, but two official resolutions concerning the inventor of the telephone. The first of these established the contributions of one Antonio Meiucci to the invention of telephony; the second responded to the previous bill, essentially stating that while Mr. Meiucci (an Italian), did contribute to the invention of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell (a Canadian), was the official, federally-recognized inventor of the telephone. Gee, thanks, federal government.

The more interesting part is that the wiki page on the second resolution links to images of both Bell and Meiucci, which I reproduce here for your edification.

The first of these images is Graham Bell, the second is Meiucci. How similar can two men look? What is it about being a bearded, white-haired man that makes you want to speak to people across great distances? These are the questions presently occupying my mind.