| 释义 |
Vail, Alfred (1807–1859) A machinist and inventor who collaborated with Samuel F.B. Morse (1791–1872) on the invention and subsequent development of the electric telegraph.Vail is credited by some with the invention of Morse code, an improvement on Morse’s original coding scheme, although Morse filed the patent on the code and, therefore, owned the rights to it.Vail left the telegraph industry in 1848, as he found he could not make a living in it. In fact, his last job was as superintendent of a telegraph line from Washington, D.C., to Columbia, South Carolina, at an annual salary of $900. In a letter to 74570c22.qxd 9/12/07 12:48 AM Page 519 |