Theodore Newton Vail

Theodore Newton Vail was born on this site on July 16, 1865. A pioneer in the development of the telephone in America and one of the outstanding figures in the history of communication, he foresaw, in his own words, “A grand telephonic system,” when the distance over which man’s voice could be transmitted was barely a score of miles. To the fulfillment of this dream he gave vision, courage, sound judgment and high ideals of public service. Before his death, on March 16, 1920, he saw the American nation united by the bonds of wire-borne speech into a continent-wide neighborhood.

Malvern, Ohio · United States