Alfred Vail

Vail's record is not one of trophies but of priority. He co-developed the electromagnetic telegraph and the signaling alphabet that made it usable, and he built the hardware that carried the first long-distance messages in the United States. The Smithsonian Institution Archives has published research restoring his role, and his papers are preserved by the New Jersey Historical Society. Two New Jersey institutions bear his name. For a man who died believing his contribution had been stolen, that is a meaningful if belated correction.