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OCT American Electro -Magnetic Telegraph Early History as Shown by Extracts From the Records of Its :: :: ALFRED VAIL 1914 :: :: of the Early History Electro-Magnetic Telegraph From Letters and Journals Arranged by His Son, J, of Alfred Vail Cummings Vail PUBLISHED BY H1NE BROTHERS, 100 WILLIAM ST., PRICE, 50 CEttTS NEW YORK M3 IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY FATHER Born September 25, 1807 Died January 18. 1859 PREFACE On honor his forty-sixth birthday Vail's diary records I care the labor of not for." " : Riches and Riches he did not have, and this pamphlet, my declining years, will, I trnst, show his. share in bring- ing the telegraph into successful use. It is not claimed that Vail invented the telegraph, but this work shows Morse invented "A System of Telegraphs," not " The Tele- graph." Vail's records now belong to Washington, D. C., and are open MORRISTOWN, N. 1914, J. the Smithsonian to the public. Institution at 292386 ALFRED VAIL ALFRED VAIL His connection with the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph It grew little Electric Telegraph had, properly speaking, no inventor. advance to it towards perfection. his little inventor each adding by little, About 1617, Famianus Strada of Rome claimed to have signalled without wires by means of two sympathetic compasses. Sparks of electricity were sent through wire in 1729 and 1730. The About 1750, Mecha