| (1845
- 1920) |
| Inducted: |
1975 |
| Region: |
Northeast |
| Industry: |
Communications
|
|
Theodore Vail, the first president of AT&T, made his fortune in the telephone and mining business. As a young man, he had a hard time finding work that interested him and worked as a Western Union telegraph operator and as the head of the railway mail division. Vail joined the troubled Bell Telephone Co. as general manager. During his tenure, Vail developed a long-distance service by merging and interconnecting local exchanges, set up the Western Electric Company to manufacture telephone equipment, and placed the telephone industry on a sound financial basis. |
