Theodore Newton Vail
Theodore Newton Vail (July 16, 1845 – April 16, 1920) was president of American Telephone & Telegraph between 1885 and 1889, and again from 1907 to 1919.[1] Vail saw telephone service as a public utility and moved to consolidate telephone networks under the Bell system. In 1913 he oversaw the Kingsbury Commitment that led to a more open system for connection.
Theodore was born on July 16, 1845, in Malvern, Ohio, and was educated in Morristown, New Jersey.[1] He initially studied medicine with his uncle. He also studied telegraphy. Success in telegraphy inspired him to go to New York City, where he became manager of a local telegraphy office.[2] He then joined the staff of a superintendent of United States Telegraph, which ultimately became Western Union.[2]
In 1866, Vail went west with his father to farm. In the fall of 1868, he was made operator and afterward agent at Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, on the Union Pacific Railroad. Pine Bluffs at that time was the principal supply point for wood for the Union Pacific, which had not then been completed.[2]
