INVENTOR
Alfred Vail
1807 - 1859
Alfred Vail
Alfred Lewis Vail (September 25, 1807 – January 18, 1859) was an American machinist and inventor. Along with Samuel Morse, Vail was central in developing and commercializing American electrical telegraphy between 1837 and 1844. Vail and Morse were the first two telegraph operators on Morse's first experimental line between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and Vail took charge of building and managing several early telegraph lines between 1845 and 1848. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Alfred Vail has received more than 357,990 page views. His biography is available in 26 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 23 in 2019). Alfred Vail is the 153rd most popular inventor (down from 143rd in 2019), the 2,169th most popular biography from United States (down from 1,957th in 2019) and the 39th most popular American Inventor.
Memorability Metrics
360k
Page Views (PV)
57.31
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
26
Languages Editions (L)
7.70
Effective Languages (L*)
2.24
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among INVENTORS
Among inventors, Alfred Vail ranks 153 out of 426. Before him are Uziel Gal, Edwin Howard Armstrong, Viktor Schauberger, Bob Kahn, Jang Yeong-sil, and Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. After him are Gideon Sundback, Peter Henlein, Heinrich Göbel, Fausto Veranzio, Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, and Garrett Morgan.
Most Popular Inventors in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsUziel Gal
1923 - 2002
HPI: 57.71
Rank: 147
Edwin Howard Armstrong
1890 - 1954
HPI: 57.55
Rank: 148
Viktor Schauberger
1885 - 1958
HPI: 57.54
Rank: 149
Bob Kahn
1938 - Present
HPI: 57.52
Rank: 150
Jang Yeong-sil
1400 - Present
HPI: 57.37
Rank: 151
Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville
1817 - 1879
HPI: 57.35
Rank: 152
Alfred Vail
1807 - 1859
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 153
Gideon Sundback
1880 - 1954
HPI: 57.24
Rank: 154
Peter Henlein
1479 - 1542
HPI: 57.12
Rank: 155
Heinrich Göbel
1818 - 1893
HPI: 57.06
Rank: 156
Fausto Veranzio
1551 - 1617
HPI: 57.04
Rank: 157
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky
1862 - 1919
HPI: 56.93
Rank: 158
Garrett Morgan
1877 - 1963
HPI: 56.80
Rank: 159
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1807, Alfred Vail ranks 16. Before him are Princess Feodora of Leiningen, Joseph Petzval, Harriet Taylor Mill, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Théophile-Jules Pelouze, and Princess Charlotte of Württemberg. After him are Joseph E. Johnston, Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha, Princess Cecilia of Sweden, Aloysius Bertrand, Amir Kabir, and Thiệu Trị. Among people deceased in 1859, Alfred Vail ranks 23. Before him are John Brown, Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Abd al-Rahman of Morocco, John Austin, and Thomas Babington Macaulay. After him are Carl Adolph Agardh, Yoshida Shōin, Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi, Louis Poinsot, Robert Stephenson, and Karl Baedeker.
Others Born in 1807
Go to all RankingsPrincess Feodora of Leiningen
POLITICIAN
1807 - 1872
HPI: 59.09
Rank: 10
Joseph Petzval
MATHEMATICIAN
1807 - 1891
HPI: 58.95
Rank: 11
Harriet Taylor Mill
PHILOSOPHER
1807 - 1858
HPI: 58.74
Rank: 12
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
WRITER
1807 - 1882
HPI: 58.09
Rank: 13
Théophile-Jules Pelouze
CHEMIST
1807 - 1867
HPI: 57.54
Rank: 14
Princess Charlotte of Württemberg
POLITICIAN
1807 - 1873
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 15
Alfred Vail
INVENTOR
1807 - 1859
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 16
Joseph E. Johnston
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1807 - 1891
HPI: 57.00
Rank: 17
Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1807 - 1883
HPI: 56.93
Rank: 18
Princess Cecilia of Sweden
COMPOSER
1807 - 1844
HPI: 56.65
Rank: 19
Aloysius Bertrand
WRITER
1807 - 1841
HPI: 56.08
Rank: 20
Amir Kabir
POLITICIAN
1807 - 1852
HPI: 55.41
Rank: 21
Thiệu Trị
POLITICIAN
1807 - 1847
HPI: 55.24
Rank: 22
Others Deceased in 1859
Go to all RankingsJohn Brown
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1800 - 1859
HPI: 60.52
Rank: 17
Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
COMPANION
1837 - 1859
HPI: 60.13
Rank: 18
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
ENGINEER
1806 - 1859
HPI: 59.48
Rank: 19
Abd al-Rahman of Morocco
POLITICIAN
1779 - 1859
HPI: 59.02
Rank: 20
John Austin
PHILOSOPHER
1790 - 1859
HPI: 58.54
Rank: 21
Thomas Babington Macaulay
HISTORIAN
1800 - 1859
HPI: 57.42
Rank: 22
Alfred Vail
INVENTOR
1807 - 1859
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 23
Carl Adolph Agardh
POLITICIAN
1785 - 1859
HPI: 57.25
Rank: 24
Yoshida Shōin
POLITICIAN
1830 - 1859
HPI: 57.20
Rank: 25
Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi
POLITICIAN
1787 - 1859
HPI: 56.70
Rank: 26
Louis Poinsot
PHYSICIST
1777 - 1859
HPI: 56.55
Rank: 27
Robert Stephenson
ENGINEER
1803 - 1859
HPI: 56.49
Rank: 28
Karl Baedeker
BUSINESSPERSON
1801 - 1859
HPI: 56.28
Rank: 29
In United States
Among people born in United States, Alfred Vail ranks 2,169 out of 20,380. Before him are Ken Wilber (1949), Barry Seal (1939), Tony Levin (1946), Vincent Schiavelli (1948), Jessye Norman (1945), and Edgar Snow (1905). After him are Stefanie Powers (1942), Sofia Coppola (1971), Jack Warden (1920), Charles Curtis (1860), Cissy Houston (1933), and George Phillips Bond (1825).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsKen Wilber
WRITER
1949 - Present
HPI: 57.33
Rank: 2,163
Barry Seal
EXTREMIST
1939 - Present
HPI: 57.32
Rank: 2,164
Tony Levin
MUSICIAN
1946 - Present
HPI: 57.32
Rank: 2,165
Vincent Schiavelli
ACTOR
1948 - 2005
HPI: 57.32
Rank: 2,166
Jessye Norman
SINGER
1945 - 2019
HPI: 57.32
Rank: 2,167
Edgar Snow
JOURNALIST
1905 - 1972
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 2,168
Alfred Vail
INVENTOR
1807 - 1859
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 2,169
Stefanie Powers
ACTOR
1942 - Present
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 2,170
Sofia Coppola
FILM DIRECTOR
1971 - Present
HPI: 57.30
Rank: 2,171
Jack Warden
ACTOR
1920 - 2006
HPI: 57.30
Rank: 2,172
Charles Curtis
POLITICIAN
1860 - 1936
HPI: 57.29
Rank: 2,173
Cissy Houston
SINGER
1933 - 2024
HPI: 57.29
Rank: 2,174
George Phillips Bond
ASTRONOMER
1825 - 1865
HPI: 57.29
Rank: 2,175
Among INVENTORS In United States
Among inventors born in United States, Alfred Vail ranks 39. Before him are Richard Jordan Gatling (1818), Robert Moog (1934), Sequoyah (1770), Elias Howe (1819), Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890), and Bob Kahn (1938). After him are Garrett Morgan (1877), Royal Rife (1888), Philo Farnsworth (1906), Charles Martin Hall (1863), Larry Sanger (1968), and Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834).
Richard Jordan Gatling
1818 - 1903
HPI: 59.36
Rank: 33
Robert Moog
1934 - 2005
HPI: 58.89
Rank: 34
Sequoyah
1770 - 1843
HPI: 58.04
Rank: 35
Elias Howe
1819 - 1867
HPI: 57.93
Rank: 36
Edwin Howard Armstrong
1890 - 1954
HPI: 57.55
Rank: 37
Bob Kahn
1938 - Present
HPI: 57.52
Rank: 38
Alfred Vail
1807 - 1859
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 39
Garrett Morgan
1877 - 1963
HPI: 56.80
Rank: 40
Royal Rife
1888 - 1971
HPI: 56.63
Rank: 41
Philo Farnsworth
1906 - 1971
HPI: 56.14
Rank: 42
Charles Martin Hall
1863 - 1914
HPI: 55.84
Rank: 43
Larry Sanger
1968 - Present
HPI: 55.78
Rank: 44
Samuel Pierpont Langley
1834 - 1906
HPI: 55.48
Rank: 45