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Alfred Vail - Wikipedia
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Available in 27 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-27" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">27 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-an mw-list-item"><a href="https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Aragonese" lang="an" hreflang="an" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Aragonés" data-language-local-name="Aragonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Aragonés</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A2%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%AF_%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84" title="آلفرد ویل – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="آلفرد ویل" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fy mw-list-item"><a href="https://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Western Frisian" lang="fy" hreflang="fy" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Frysk" data-language-local-name="Western Frisian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Frysk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%95%8C%ED%94%84%EB%A0%88%EB%93%9C_%EB%A3%A8%EC%9D%B4%EC%8A%A4_%EB%B2%A0%EC%9D%BC" title="알프레드 루이스 베일 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="알프레드 루이스 베일" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D4%B1%D5%AC%D6%86%D6%80%D5%A5%D5%A4_%D5%8E%D5%A5%D5%B5%D5%AC" title="Ալֆրեդ Վեյլ – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Ալֆրեդ Վեյլ" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mg mw-list-item"><a href="https://mg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Malagasy" lang="mg" hreflang="mg" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Malagasy" data-language-local-name="Malagasy" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Malagasy</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mr mw-list-item"><a href="https://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AB%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A1_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B2" title="आल्फ्रेड वेल – Marathi" lang="mr" hreflang="mr" data-title="आल्फ्रेड वेल" data-language-autonym="मराठी" data-language-local-name="Marathi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>मराठी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AF_%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%84" title="الفريد فيل – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="الفريد فيل" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A7%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB" title="アルフレッド・ヴェイル – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="アルフレッド・ヴェイル" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BB,_%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4" title="Вейл, Альфред – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Вейл, Альфред" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Vail" title="Alfred Vail – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Alfred Vail" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%94_%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A5" title="อัลเฟรด เวล – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="อัลเฟรด เวล" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BB" title="Альфред Вейл – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Альфред Вейл" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%98%BF%E5%B0%94%E5%BC%97%E9%9B%B7%E5%BE%B7%C2%B7%E9%9F%A6%E5%B0%94" title="阿尔弗雷德·韦尔 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="阿尔弗雷德·韦尔" data-language-autonym="中文" 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inventor</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox biography vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div class="fn">Alfred Vail</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Alfred_Vail.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Alfred_Vail.jpg/220px-Alfred_Vail.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="311" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Alfred_Vail.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="424" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Born</th><td class="infobox-data">25 September 1807<br /><div style="display:inline" class="birthplace"><a href="/wiki/Morristown,_New_Jersey" title="Morristown, New Jersey">Morristown, New Jersey</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Died</th><td class="infobox-data">January 18, 1859<span style="display:none">(1859-01-18)</span> (aged 51)<br /><div style="display:inline" class="deathplace">Morristown, New Jersey</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Nationality</th><td class="infobox-data category">American</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Occupation</th><td class="infobox-data role">Engineer</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Children</th><td class="infobox-data">Stephen Vail</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1257001546" /><b>Engineering career</b></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Discipline</th><td class="infobox-data category">Mechanical and electrical engineering</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Institutions</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Samuel_Morse#Magnetic_Telegraph_Company" title="Samuel Morse">Magnetic Telegraph Company</a></td></tr><tr class="note"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Projects</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Telegraph" class="mw-redirect" title="Telegraph">telegraph</a>, <a href="/wiki/Morse_code" title="Morse code">Morse code</a></td></tr><tr class="note"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Significant design</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Telegraph_key" title="Telegraph key">telegraph key</a>, recording telegraph, <a href="/wiki/American_Morse_code" title="American Morse code">‘dot-and-dash’ telegraph alphabet</a></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2"> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Alfred Lewis Vail</b> (September 25, 1807 – January 18, 1859) was an American <a href="/wiki/Machinist" title="Machinist">machinist</a> and inventor. Along with <a href="/wiki/Samuel_Morse" title="Samuel Morse">Samuel Morse</a>, Vail was central in developing and commercializing American <a href="/wiki/Electrical_telegraph" title="Electrical telegraph">electrical telegraphy</a> between 1837 and 1844.<sup id="cite_ref-parks-1981-morris-nj_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parks-1981-morris-nj-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Vail and Morse were the first two telegraph operators on Morse's first experimental line between <a href="/wiki/Washington,_D.C." title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Baltimore" title="Baltimore">Baltimore</a>, and Vail took charge of building and managing several early telegraph lines between 1845 and 1848. He was also responsible for several technical innovations of Morse's system, particularly the first <a href="/wiki/Telegraph_key" title="Telegraph key">sending key</a>, which Vail invented,<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and improved recording <a href="/wiki/Telegraph_sounder" title="Telegraph sounder">registers</a> and <a href="/wiki/Relay" title="Relay">relay</a> magnets. Vail left the telegraph industry in 1848 because he believed that the managers of Morse's lines did not fully value his contributions. </p><p>His last assignment, superintendent of the <a href="/wiki/Washington_and_New_Orleans_Telegraph_Company" title="Washington and New Orleans Telegraph Company">Washington and New Orleans Telegraph Company</a>, paid him only $900 a year, leading Vail to write to Morse, </p> <dl><dd>"I have made up my mind to leave the Telegraph to take care of itself, since it cannot take care of me. I shall, in a few months, leave Washington for New Jersey, ... and bid <i>adieu</i> to the subject of the Telegraph for some more profitable business."<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Early_life">Early life</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Vail&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Early life"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Alfred_Vail" title="Special:EditPage/Alfred Vail">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22Alfred+Vail%22">"Alfred Vail"</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22Alfred+Vail%22+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Alfred+Vail%22&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22Alfred+Vail%22+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Alfred+Vail%22">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22Alfred+Vail%22&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">January 2018</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Vail's parents were Bethiah Youngs (1778–1847) and <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Vail" title="Stephen Vail">Stephen Vail</a> (1780–1864). Vail was born in <a href="/wiki/Morristown,_New_Jersey" title="Morristown, New Jersey">Morristown, New Jersey</a>, where his father was an entrepreneur and industrialist who built the <a href="/wiki/Speedwell_Ironworks" title="Speedwell Ironworks">Speedwell Ironworks</a> into one of the most innovative iron works of its time.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Their other son <a href="/wiki/George_Vail" title="George Vail">George Vail</a>, Alfred's brother, was a noted politician. </p><p>Alfred attended public schools before taking a job as a <a href="/wiki/Machinist" title="Machinist">machinist</a> at the iron works. He enrolled in <a href="/wiki/New_York_University" title="New York University">New York University</a> to study theology in 1832, where he was an active and successful student and a member of the <a href="/wiki/Eucleian_Society" title="Eucleian Society">Eucleian Society</a>, graduating in 1836.<sup id="cite_ref-parks-1981-morris-nj_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parks-1981-morris-nj-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Involvement_with_Morse's_telegraph"><span id="Involvement_with_Morse.27s_telegraph"></span>Involvement with Morse's telegraph</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Vail&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Involvement with Morse's telegraph"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Visiting his <a href="/wiki/Alma_mater" title="Alma mater">alma mater</a> on September 2, 1837, Vail happened to witness one of <a href="/wiki/Samuel_F._B._Morse" class="mw-redirect" title="Samuel F. B. Morse">Samuel Morse</a>'s early telegraph experiments. He became fascinated by the technology and negotiated an arrangement with Morse to develop the technology at <a href="/wiki/Speedwell_Ironworks" title="Speedwell Ironworks">Speedwell Ironworks</a>, at his own expense, in return for 25% of the proceeds. Alfred split his share with his brother George Vail. After having secured his father's financial backing, and being a skilled machinist, Vail refined Morse's crude prototype telegraph to make it suitable for public demonstration and commercial operation. </p><p>The first successful completion of a transmission with this system was at the Speedwell Iron Works on January 6, 1838, across two miles (3 km) of wire. The message read "A patient waiter is no loser." Over the next few months Morse and Vail demonstrated the telegraph to Philadelphia's <a href="/wiki/Franklin_Institute" title="Franklin Institute">Franklin Institute</a>, members of Congress, and President <a href="/wiki/Martin_Van_Buren" title="Martin Van Buren">Martin Van Buren</a> and his cabinet. Demonstrations such as these were crucial to Morse's obtaining a Congressional appropriation of $30,000 to build his first line in 1844 from Washington to Baltimore. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Retirement_from_telegraphy">Retirement from telegraphy</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Vail&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Retirement from telegraphy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>When Morse took on an influential congressman as a partner,<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Morse cut the Vail brothers' share to one-eighth, although the other partners' shares were not reduced. Morse retained patent rights to all the apparatus and the alphabetic code-system that Vail had developed. </p><p>Vail retired from the telegraph operations in 1848 and moved back to Morristown, where he spent his last ten years researching <a href="/wiki/Genealogy" title="Genealogy">genealogy</a>. Since Alfred and his brother George shared a one-eighth interest in Morse's telegraph patents, Vail realized far less financial gain from his work on the telegraph than Morse and others. </p><p>His papers and equipment were subsequently donated by his son Stephen to the <a href="/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution" title="Smithsonian Institution">Smithsonian Institution</a> and <a href="/wiki/New_Jersey_Historical_Society" title="New Jersey Historical Society">New Jersey Historical Society</a>. </p><p>Alfred Vail's cousin, <a href="/wiki/Theodore_N._Vail" class="mw-redirect" title="Theodore N. Vail">Theodore N. Vail</a>, became the first president of <a href="/wiki/American_Telephone_%26_Telegraph" class="mw-redirect" title="American Telephone & Telegraph">American Telephone & Telegraph</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Morse_code">Morse code</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Vail&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Morse code"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse collaborated in the invention of <a href="/wiki/American_Morse_code" title="American Morse code">Morse code</a>. </p><p>The "<a href="/wiki/American_Morse_code" title="American Morse code">Morse code</a>" that went into operational use after Vail had become involved was very different from <a href="/wiki/Samuel_F._B._Morse" class="mw-redirect" title="Samuel F. B. Morse">Morse</a>'s original plan.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>c<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A controversy exists over the role of each in the invention. The argument for Vail being the original inventor is laid out by several scholars.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-E-Morse_1904-06-21_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-E-Morse_1904-06-21-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>d<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-S-Vail-1904-06-25_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-S-Vail-1904-06-25-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>e<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The argument offered by supporters of Morse claims that Morse originally devised a cipher code similar to that used in existing <a href="/wiki/Semaphore_line" class="mw-redirect" title="Semaphore line">semaphore line</a> telegraphs, by which words were assigned three- or four-digit numbers and entered into a code book. The sending operator converted words to these number groups and the receiving operator converted them back to words through the same code book. </p><p>Morse spent several months compiling this code dictionary. It is said by Morse supporters that Vail, in public and private writings, never claimed the code for himself. According to one researcher, in a February 1838 letter to his father, Judge Stephen Vail, Alfred wrote, </p> <dl><dd>"Professor Morse has invented a new plan of an alphabet, and has thrown aside the Dictionaries."<sup id="cite_ref-Silverman-2003_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Silverman-2003-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <p>In an 1845 book Vail wrote describing Morse's telegraph, he also attributed the code to Morse.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He died in 1859 at the age of 51.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Honors">Honors</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Vail&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Honors"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A U.S. Army base was named in Vail's honor: Camp Vail in <a href="/wiki/Eatontown,_New_Jersey" title="Eatontown, New Jersey">Eatontown, New Jersey</a>, later temporarily renamed <a href="/wiki/Fort_Monmouth" title="Fort Monmouth">Fort Monmouth</a>, was an Army housing complex. </p><p>After World War II the families of servicemen and civilian Army employees negotiated with the Army to purchase the development, which they incorporated as the "Alfred Vail Mutual Association". Due to the diligent efforts of the town clerk, the rights of the charter of the original <a href="/wiki/Shrewsbury_Township,_New_Jersey" title="Shrewsbury Township, New Jersey">Shrewsbury Township</a> (est. 1693) were transferred to the residents. The housing development exists under that name to this day. </p><p>An elementary school in <a href="/wiki/Morristown,_New_Jersey" title="Morristown, New Jersey">Morristown, New Jersey</a>, near the site of the Speedwell Iron Works, is named Alfred Vail Elementary School in his honor. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Footnotes">Footnotes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Vail&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Footnotes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"Samuel F. B. Morse is known as the father of the American commercial telegraph, but he would not have succeeded without Alfred Vail as his partner. History glorifies Morse but credits little, or nothing, to Alfred. The reasons are complicated, unfair and more than a little <span class="nowrap">sad." — Morristown N.J. parks (1980)<sup id="cite_ref-parks-1981-morris-nj_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parks-1981-morris-nj-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The congressman brought into Morse's company, gratis, as a partner was <a href="/wiki/Francis_O._J._Smith" class="mw-redirect" title="Francis O. J. Smith">Francis Smith</a>, the representative from Maine.<sup id="cite_ref-Silverman-2003_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Silverman-2003-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">In its own turn, the “<a href="/wiki/American_Morse_code" title="American Morse code">American Morse code</a>” they produced was only ever used by U.S. railroads, and was often called “the railroad code”. It was quickly replaced everywhere outside U.S. railroads by the more robust / less critical “<a href="/wiki/International_Morse_code" class="mw-redirect" title="International Morse code">International Morse code</a>” which remains in use as of the early 21st century, (although <a href="/wiki/International_Morse_code" class="mw-redirect" title="International Morse code">International Morse</a> itself seems to be being supplanted in <a href="/wiki/Radio_communication" class="mw-redirect" title="Radio communication">radio communication</a>, by recent computer operated, weak-signal coding systems, such as <a href="/wiki/WSPR_(amateur_radio_software)" title="WSPR (amateur radio software)">WSPR</a> and <a href="/wiki/WSJT_(amateur_radio_software)" title="WSJT (amateur radio software)">WSJT</a>).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"My attention has been called to a communication in <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a> of June 7 headed ‘<i>Vail, father of the telegraph</i>’, and signed Stephen Vail. While I have no desire to enter into a newspaper controversy with Mr. Vail, and while I am sure that you have no desire to encourage one, I trust in justice to my father, Samuel F.B. Morse, you will allow me a few words in <span class="nowrap">reply." — E.L. Morse (21 June 1904) N.Y.Times<sup id="cite_ref-E-Morse_1904-06-21_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-E-Morse_1904-06-21-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"Alfred Vail ... invented the new ‘recording receiver’, the ‘sounding key’, and the ‘dot-and-dash’ alphabet ... but doing his duty in strict accordance with his understanding of the terms of his contract, and that to Morse belonged all that he had <span class="nowrap">accomplished." — S. Vail (25 June 1904) N.Y.Times<sup id="cite_ref-S-Vail-1904-06-25_13-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-S-Vail-1904-06-25-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Vail&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626" /><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 25em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-parks-1981-morris-nj-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-parks-1981-morris-nj_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-parks-1981-morris-nj_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-parks-1981-morris-nj_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050321094151/http://www.parks.morris.nj.us/speedwell/tel/tel.html">"Invention of the Telegraph"</a>. <i>parks.morris.nj.us</i>. Historic Speedwell – Morristown, New Jersey. The Speedwell Village, Joint Free Public Library of Morristown, and Morris Township. 1981. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.parks.morris.nj.us/speedwell/tel/tel.html">the original</a> on 21 March 2005.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=parks.morris.nj.us&rft.atitle=Invention+of+the+Telegraph&rft.date=1981&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parks.morris.nj.us%2Fspeedwell%2Ftel%2Ftel.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFNoll2001" class="citation book cs1">Noll, A. Michael (2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=fZ0vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA208&dq=telegraph+key&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj32I-Q2ayKAxV2FVkFHTHtAz44ChDoAXoECA0QAg#v=onepage&q=telegraph%20key&f=false"><i>Principles of Modern Communications Technology</i></a>. Artech House via Google Books. p. 208. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-58053-284-5" title="Special:BookSources/1-58053-284-5"><bdi>1-58053-284-5</bdi></a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 December</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Principles+of+Modern+Communications+Technology&rft.pages=208&rft.pub=Artech+House+via+Google+Books&rft.date=2001&rft.isbn=1-58053-284-5&rft.aulast=Noll&rft.aufirst=A.+Michael&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DfZ0vDwAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA208%26dq%3Dtelegraph%2Bkey%26hl%3Den%26newbks%3D1%26newbks_redir%3D0%26sa%3DX%26ved%3D2ahUKEwj32I-Q2ayKAxV2FVkFHTHtAz44ChDoAXoECA0QAg%23v%3Donepage%26q%3Dtelegraph%2520key%26f%3Dfalse&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFMorse1914" class="citation book cs1">Morse, Edward L., ed. (1914). <i>Samuel F. B. Morse, his Letters and Journals</i>. New York, NY.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Samuel+F.+B.+Morse%2C+his+Letters+and+Journals&rft.place=New+York%2C+NY&rft.date=1914&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_book" title="Template:Cite book">cite book</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher" title="Category:CS1 maint: location missing publisher">link</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bookrags.com/biography/alfred-vail-woi/"><i>Alfred Vail</i></a>. World of Invention<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 June</span> 2008</span> – via BookRags.com. <q>Alfred Vail was born on September 25, 1807, in Morristown, New Jersey, where his father, Stephen, operated the Speedwell Iron Works.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Alfred+Vail&rft.series=World+of+Invention&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookrags.com%2Fbiography%2Falfred-vail-woi%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Silverman-2003-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Silverman-2003_6-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Silverman-2003_6-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSilverman2003" class="citation book cs1">Silverman, Kenneth (2003). <i>Lightning Man: The accursed life of Samuel F.B. Morse</i>. New York, NY. p. 167.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Lightning+Man%3A+The+accursed+life+of+Samuel+F.B.+Morse&rft.place=New+York%2C+NY&rft.pages=167&rft.date=2003&rft.aulast=Silverman&rft.aufirst=Kenneth&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_book" title="Template:Cite book">cite book</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher" title="Category:CS1 maint: location missing publisher">link</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFPope1888" class="citation magazine cs1">Pope, Franklin Leonard (April 1888). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABP2287-0035-212">"The American inventors of the telegraph, with special references to the services of Alfred Vail"</a>. <i>Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine</i> (on-line copy). Making of America. Vol. 35. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. pp. <span class="nowrap">924–</span>945.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Century+Illustrated+Monthly+Magazine&rft.atitle=The+American+inventors+of+the+telegraph%2C+with+special+references+to+the+services+of+Alfred+Vail&rft.volume=35&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E924-%3C%2Fspan%3E945&rft.date=1888-04&rft.aulast=Pope&rft.aufirst=Franklin+Leonard&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DABP2287-0035-212&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFMcEwen1997" class="citation web cs1">McEwen, Neal (1997). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101222073841/http://telegraph-office.com///pages/vail.html">"Morse code or Vail code?"</a>. <i>telegraph-office.com</i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph-office.com/pages/vail.html">the original</a> on 22 December 2010<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 January</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=telegraph-office.com&rft.atitle=Morse+code+or+Vail+code%3F&rft.date=1997&rft.aulast=McEwen&rft.aufirst=Neal&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph-office.com%2Fpages%2Fvail.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-E-Morse_1904-06-21-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-E-Morse_1904-06-21_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-E-Morse_1904-06-21_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFMorse1904" class="citation news cs1">Morse, Edward Lind (21 June 1904). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/06/21/120269879.pdf">"Defends his father's claim to paternity of the telegraph"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">31 October</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Defends+his+father%27s+claim+to+paternity+of+the+telegraph&rft.date=1904-06-21&rft.aulast=Morse&rft.aufirst=Edward+Lind&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Ftimesmachine.nytimes.com%2Ftimesmachine%2F1904%2F06%2F21%2F120269879.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-S-Vail-1904-06-25-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-S-Vail-1904-06-25_13-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-S-Vail-1904-06-25_13-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFVail1904" class="citation news cs1">Vail, Stephen (25 June 1904). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/06/30/100472044.pdf">"Vail-Morse controversy: Stephen Vail on his father's claim to telegraph invention"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">31 October</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Vail-Morse+controversy%3A+Stephen+Vail+on+his+father%27s+claim+to+telegraph+invention&rft.date=1904-06-25&rft.aulast=Vail&rft.aufirst=Stephen&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Ftimesmachine.nytimes.com%2Ftimesmachine%2F1904%2F06%2F30%2F100472044.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFVail1974" class="citation book cs1"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Vail, Alfred</a> (1974) [1845]. <i>The American Electro Magnetic Telegraph</i> (reprint ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lea & Blanchard<sup>1845</sup> ; New York, NY: Arno Press<sup>1974</sup>. <q><span class="smallcaps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;">SUBTITLE</span></span>: With the reports of Congress, and a description of all telegraphs known, employing electricity or galvanism</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+American+Electro+Magnetic+Telegraph&rft.edition=reprint&rft.pub=Philadelphia%2C+PA%3A+Lea+%26+Blanchard%3Csup%3E1845%3C%2Fsup%3E+%3B+New+York%2C+NY%3A+Arno+Press%3Csup%3E1974%3C%2Fsup%3E&rft.date=1974&rft.aulast=Vail&rft.aufirst=Alfred&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://jerseyhistory.org/guide-to-the-alfred-vail-1807-1859-inventor-papers1826-1918mg-50/#:~:text=Alfred%20Vail%20died%20on%20January,Vail%20papers%20in%20its%20collections.">"Guide to the Alfred Vail (1807-1859), Inventor, Papers"</a>. <i>New Jersey Historical Society</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=New+Jersey+Historical+Society&rft.atitle=Guide+to+the+Alfred+Vail+%281807-1859%29%2C+Inventor%2C+Papers&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fjerseyhistory.org%2Fguide-to-the-alfred-vail-1807-1859-inventor-papers1826-1918mg-50%2F%23%3A~%3Atext%3DAlfred%2520Vail%2520died%2520on%2520January%2CVail%2520papers%2520in%2520its%2520collections.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Vail&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060822065148/http://www.morsetelegraphclub.org/">Morse Telegraph Club, Inc.</a> (The Morse Telegraph Club is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the perpetuation of the knowledge and traditions of telegraphy.)</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018155427/http://www.morrisparks.net/speedwell//Vail/AVbio.html">Alfred Vail Biography at speedwell.org</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/tel/morse/morse.htm">The Electromagnetic Telegraph by J. B. Calvert</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170821001044/http://www.jerseyhistory.org/findingaiddirnb.php?dir=EAD%2Ffaid0500&aid=mg0050">Profile of Alfred Vail (Manuscript Group 50, Alfred Vail Papers, The New Jersey Historical Society)</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://siarchives.si.edu/findingaids/FARU7055.htm#FARU7055i">Vail Telegraph Collection from</a> the <a href="/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution_Archives" class="mw-redirect" title="Smithsonian Institution Archives">Smithsonian Institution Archives</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://siarchives.si.edu/blog/forgotten-history-alfred-vail-and-samuel-morse">"A Forgotten History: Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse"</a> also from the Smithsonian Institution Archives</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFIles1912" class="citation cs2">Iles, George (1912), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/leadingamericani00ilesrich"><i>Leading American Inventors</i></a>, New York: Henry Holt and Company, pp. <span class="nowrap">158–</span>176</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Leading+American+Inventors&rft.place=New+York&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E158-%3C%2Fspan%3E176&rft.pub=Henry+Holt+and+Company&rft.date=1912&rft.aulast=Iles&rft.aufirst=George&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fleadingamericani00ilesrich&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAlfred+Vail" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output 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.navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-labelledby="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q454292#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata1379" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q454292#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata1379" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q454292#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, 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style="width:1%">National</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/136932282">Germany</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n85185997">United States</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb102578609">France</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb102578609">BnF data</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nli.org.il/en/authorities/987007378983505171">Israel</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">People</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/1000964">Trove</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.idref.fr/150306245">IdRef</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6tx3p1f">SNAC</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235" /></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Telecommunications802" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Telecommunications" title="Template:Telecommunications"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Telecommunications" title="Template talk:Telecommunications"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Telecommunications" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Telecommunications"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Telecommunications802" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications" title="Telecommunications">Telecommunications</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/History_of_telecommunication" title="History of telecommunication">History</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Beacon#For_defensive_communications" title="Beacon">Beacon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_broadcasting" title="History of broadcasting">Broadcasting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cable_protection_system" title="Cable protection system">Cable protection system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cable_television" title="Cable television">Cable TV</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Communications_satellite#History" title="Communications satellite">Communications satellite</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Computer_network#History" title="Computer network">Computer network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Data_compression" title="Data compression">Data compression</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Audio_coding_format" title="Audio coding format">audio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Discrete_cosine_transform" title="Discrete cosine transform">DCT</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Image_compression" title="Image compression">image</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Video_coding_format" title="Video coding format">video</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Digital_media" title="Digital media">Digital media</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Internet_video" title="Internet video">Internet video</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Online_video_platform" title="Online video platform">online video platform</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_media" title="Social media">social media</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Streaming_media" title="Streaming media">streaming</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drums_in_communication" title="Drums in communication">Drums</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Edholm%27s_law" title="Edholm's law">Edholm's law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Electrical_telegraph#History" title="Electrical telegraph">Electrical telegraph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fax#History" title="Fax">Fax</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Heliograph#History" title="Heliograph">Heliographs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hydraulic_telegraph#Greek_hydraulic_semaphore_system" title="Hydraulic telegraph">Hydraulic telegraph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Information_Age" title="Information Age">Information Age</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Information_revolution" class="mw-redirect" title="Information revolution">Information revolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Internet" title="History of the Internet">Internet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mass_media#History" title="Mass media">Mass media</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_mobile_phones" title="History of mobile phones">Mobile phone</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Smartphone" title="Smartphone">Smartphone</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Optical_communication" title="Optical communication">Optical telecommunication</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Optical_telegraph" title="Optical telegraph">Optical telegraphy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pager" title="Pager">Pager</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Photophone" title="Photophone">Photophone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_prepaid_mobile_phones" title="History of prepaid mobile phones">Prepaid mobile phone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_radio" title="History of radio">Radio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radiotelephone" title="Radiotelephone">Radiotelephone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Communications_satellite" title="Communications satellite">Satellite communications</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Semaphore" title="Semaphore">Semaphore</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phryctoria" title="Phryctoria">Phryctoria</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Semiconductor" title="Semiconductor">Semiconductor</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Semiconductor_device" title="Semiconductor device">device</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/MOSFET" title="MOSFET">MOSFET</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_transistor" title="History of the transistor">transistor</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Smoke_signal" title="Smoke signal">Smoke signals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_telecommunication" title="History of telecommunication">Telecommunications history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telautograph" title="Telautograph">Telautograph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telegraphy" title="Telegraphy">Telegraphy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Teleprinter" title="Teleprinter">Teleprinter</a> (teletype)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_telephone" title="History of the telephone">Telephone</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Telephone_Cases" title="The Telephone Cases">The Telephone Cases</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_television" title="History of television">Television</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Digital_television" title="Digital television">digital</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Streaming_television" title="Streaming television">streaming</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Submarine_communications_cable#Early_history:_telegraph_and_coaxial_cables" title="Submarine communications cable">Undersea telegraph line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_videotelephony" title="History of videotelephony">Videotelephony</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Whistled_language" title="Whistled language">Whistled language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wireless_revolution" class="mw-redirect" title="Wireless revolution">Wireless revolution</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Pioneers</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nasir_Ahmed_(engineer)" title="Nasir Ahmed (engineer)">Nasir Ahmed</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Edwin_Howard_Armstrong" title="Edwin Howard Armstrong">Edwin Howard Armstrong</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mohamed_M._Atalla" title="Mohamed M. Atalla">Mohamed M. Atalla</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Logie_Baird" title="John Logie Baird">John Logie Baird</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paul_Baran" title="Paul Baran">Paul Baran</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Bardeen" title="John Bardeen">John Bardeen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell" title="Alexander Graham Bell">Alexander Graham Bell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Emile_Berliner" title="Emile Berliner">Emile Berliner</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee" title="Tim Berners-Lee">Tim Berners-Lee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Francis_Blake_(inventor)" title="Francis Blake (inventor)">Francis Blake</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jagadish_Chandra_Bose" title="Jagadish Chandra Bose">Jagadish Chandra Bose</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_Bourseul" title="Charles Bourseul">Charles Bourseul</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Walter_Houser_Brattain" title="Walter Houser Brattain">Walter Houser Brattain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vint_Cerf" title="Vint Cerf">Vint Cerf</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Claude_Chappe" title="Claude Chappe">Claude Chappe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yogen_Dalal" class="mw-redirect" title="Yogen Dalal">Yogen Dalal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Donald_Davies" title="Donald Davies">Donald Davies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Daniel_Davis_Jr." title="Daniel Davis Jr.">Daniel Davis Jr.</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amos_Dolbear" title="Amos Dolbear">Amos Dolbear</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Edison" title="Thomas Edison">Thomas Edison</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philo_Farnsworth" title="Philo Farnsworth">Philo Farnsworth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reginald_Fessenden" title="Reginald Fessenden">Reginald Fessenden</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lee_de_Forest" title="Lee de Forest">Lee de Forest</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elisha_Gray" title="Elisha Gray">Elisha Gray</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oliver_Heaviside" title="Oliver Heaviside">Oliver Heaviside</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Hooke" title="Robert Hooke">Robert Hooke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Erna_Schneider_Hoover" title="Erna Schneider Hoover">Erna Schneider Hoover</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harold_Hopkins_(physicist)" title="Harold Hopkins (physicist)">Harold Hopkins</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gardiner_Greene_Hubbard" title="Gardiner Greene Hubbard">Gardiner Greene Hubbard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bob_Kahn" class="mw-redirect" title="Bob Kahn">Bob Kahn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dawon_Kahng" title="Dawon Kahng">Dawon Kahng</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_K._Kao" title="Charles K. Kao">Charles K. Kao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narinder_Singh_Kapany" title="Narinder Singh Kapany">Narinder Singh Kapany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr" title="Hedy Lamarr">Hedy Lamarr</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roberto_Landell_de_Moura" title="Roberto Landell de Moura">Roberto Landell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Innocenzo_Manzetti" title="Innocenzo Manzetti">Innocenzo Manzetti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi" title="Guglielmo Marconi">Guglielmo Marconi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Metcalfe" title="Robert Metcalfe">Robert Metcalfe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Antonio_Meucci" title="Antonio Meucci">Antonio Meucci</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Samuel_Morse" title="Samuel Morse">Samuel Morse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jun-ichi_Nishizawa" title="Jun-ichi Nishizawa">Jun-ichi Nishizawa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_Grafton_Page" title="Charles Grafton Page">Charles Grafton Page</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radia_Perlman" title="Radia Perlman">Radia Perlman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alexander_Stepanovich_Popov" class="mw-redirect" title="Alexander Stepanovich Popov">Alexander Stepanovich Popov</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tivadar_Pusk%C3%A1s" title="Tivadar Puskás">Tivadar Puskás</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Johann_Philipp_Reis" title="Johann Philipp Reis">Johann Philipp Reis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Claude_Shannon" title="Claude Shannon">Claude Shannon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Almon_Brown_Strowger" title="Almon Brown Strowger">Almon Brown Strowger</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Henry_Sutton_(inventor)" title="Henry Sutton (inventor)">Henry Sutton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_Sumner_Tainter" title="Charles Sumner Tainter">Charles Sumner Tainter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nikola_Tesla" title="Nikola Tesla">Nikola Tesla</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Camille_Tissot" title="Camille Tissot">Camille Tissot</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Alfred Vail</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_A._Watson" title="Thomas A. Watson">Thomas A. Watson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_Wheatstone" title="Charles Wheatstone">Charles Wheatstone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vladimir_K._Zworykin" title="Vladimir K. Zworykin">Vladimir K. Zworykin</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/List_of_Internet_pioneers" title="List of Internet pioneers">Internet pioneers</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Transmission_medium" title="Transmission medium">Transmission<br />media</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Coaxial_cable" title="Coaxial cable">Coaxial cable</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fiber-optic_communication" title="Fiber-optic communication">Fiber-optic communication</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Optical_fiber" title="Optical fiber">optical fiber</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Free-space_optical_communication" class="mw-redirect" title="Free-space optical communication">Free-space optical communication</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Molecular_communication" title="Molecular communication">Molecular communication</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radio_wave" title="Radio wave">Radio waves</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wireless" title="Wireless">wireless</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transmission_line" title="Transmission line">Transmission line</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunication_circuit" title="Telecommunication circuit">telecommunication circuit</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Network_topology" title="Network topology">Network topology</a><br />and switching</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bandwidth_(computing)" title="Bandwidth (computing)">Bandwidth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_link" title="Telecommunications link">Links</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_switch" title="Network switch">Network switching</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Circuit_switching" title="Circuit switching">circuit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Packet_switching" title="Packet switching">packet</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Node_(networking)" title="Node (networking)">Nodes</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Terminal_(telecommunication)" title="Terminal (telecommunication)">terminal</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telephone_exchange" title="Telephone exchange">Telephone exchange</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Multiplexing" title="Multiplexing">Multiplexing</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Space-division_multiple_access" title="Space-division multiple access">Space-division</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Frequency-division_multiplexing" title="Frequency-division multiplexing">Frequency-division</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Time-division_multiplexing" title="Time-division multiplexing">Time-division</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polarization-division_multiplexing" title="Polarization-division multiplexing">Polarization-division</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_angular_momentum_multiplexing" title="Orbital angular momentum multiplexing">Orbital angular-momentum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Code-division_multiple_access" title="Code-division multiple access">Code-division</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Concepts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Communication_protocol" title="Communication protocol">Communication protocol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Computer_network" title="Computer network">Computer network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Data_communication" title="Data communication">Data transmission</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Store_and_forward" title="Store and forward">Store and forward</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_equipment" title="Telecommunications equipment">Telecommunications equipment</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_network" title="Telecommunications network">Types of network</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cellular_network" title="Cellular network">Cellular network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Integrated_Services_Digital_Network" class="mw-redirect" title="Integrated Services Digital Network">ISDN</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Local_area_network" title="Local area network">LAN</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mobile_telephony" title="Mobile telephony">Mobile</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Next-generation_network" title="Next-generation network">NGN</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public_switched_telephone_network" title="Public switched telephone network">Public Switched Telephone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radio_network" title="Radio network">Radio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Television_broadcasting" class="mw-redirect" title="Television broadcasting">Television</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telex" title="Telex">Telex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/UUCP" title="UUCP">UUCP</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wide_area_network" title="Wide area network">WAN</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wireless_network" title="Wireless network">Wireless network</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_network" title="Telecommunications network">Notable networks</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/ARPANET" title="ARPANET">ARPANET</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BITNET" title="BITNET">BITNET</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/CYCLADES" title="CYCLADES">CYCLADES</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/FidoNet" title="FidoNet">FidoNet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internet" title="Internet">Internet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internet2" title="Internet2">Internet2</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/JANET" title="JANET">JANET</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/NPL_network" title="NPL network">NPL network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Toasternet" title="Toasternet">Toasternet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Usenet" title="Usenet">Usenet</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Locations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_Africa" title="Category:Telecommunications in Africa">Africa</a></li> <li>Americas <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_North_America" title="Category:Telecommunications in North America">North</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_South_America" title="Category:Telecommunications in South America">South</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Communications_in_Antarctica" title="Category:Communications in Antarctica">Antarctica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_Asia" title="Category:Telecommunications in Asia">Asia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_Europe" title="Category:Telecommunications in Europe">Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_Oceania" title="Category:Telecommunications in Oceania">Oceania</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/List_of_telecommunications_regulatory_bodies" title="List of telecommunications regulatory bodies">Global telecommunications regulation bodies</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Telecom-icon.svg/15px-Telecom-icon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Telecom-icon.svg/23px-Telecom-icon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Telecom-icon.svg/30px-Telecom-icon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="500" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Telecommunication" title="Portal:Telecommunication">Telecommunication portal</a></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications" title="Category:Telecommunications">Category</a></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="List-Class article"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/16px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/23px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/31px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Outline_of_telecommunication" title="Outline of telecommunication">Outline</a></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Commons page"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/20px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/40px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></span></span> <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Telecommunications" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Telecommunications">Commons</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <!-- NewPP limit report Parsed by mw‐web.eqiad.main‐6df8dbf59d‐lgm7r Cached time: 20250331025736 Cache expiry: 2592000 Reduced expiry: false Complications: [vary‐revision‐sha1, show‐toc] CPU time usage: 0.548 seconds Real time usage: 0.754 seconds Preprocessor visited node count: 3031/1000000 Post‐expand include size: 78711/2097152 bytes Template argument size: 5537/2097152 bytes Highest expansion depth: 12/100 Expensive parser function count: 4/500 Unstrip recursion depth: 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