History of PR: Theodore N. Vail

Why not stay on the history train and give you why Theodore N. Vail is important in the PR world. Theodore Vail was born in 1847 in Carroll County, Ohio. He was the type of man who couldn’t stay in the same career for long.

His journey began for the U.S. Postal Railway System as a mail clerk. He pioneered the way for how the mail delivery system is used today. His system allowed mail to be delivered up to two week earlier than before. He was showered with many congratulations by his peers for his schematic distribution throughout the country.

He couldn’t just finish his career in something he started, he had to move on. In 1878, Vail became the General Manager of the Bell Company. The Bell Company was led by the president, Gardiner Hubbard, but more importantly the electrician, Alexander Graham Bell. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company or AT&T came about after Bell bought Western Union and began to offer both telephone and telegraph service. Theodore Vail resigned as the GM of American Bell at the age of 40 with a dozen patents.

The next stop on his career journey stopped at becoming the first president of AT&T. He led his company by focusing on universal service and commitment to the customers. After two years as president, Vail resigned, because he didn’t see eye to eye with his board. During this time, Vail independently developed electricity from waterpower in South American, financed a gold mine in Colorado and invested in electric tramlines. Twenty years after his resignation, AT&T begged for him back to get the company back on its feet. Throughout the rest of his time at AT&T, he altered the company’s purpose and mission to get back on track.

In June 1919, Vail retired as president and became Chairman of the Board. He died at the age of 74 with a long list of achievements and accolades. To remember his name, The Vail Award was established in 1920 to awarded employees or retirees of random acts of service or bravery. According to the AT&T website, “The AT&T Global Vail Committee meets quarterly to determine Vail winners who are awarded citations, medals and cash payments.” He will always be remembered today as one of the heroes in the telecommunication industry.