Morris Franklin Tyler (August 12, 1848 – December 4, 1907) was an American telephone industry pioneer, lawyer, and professor of law.

Early life

Morris Franklin Tyler was the son of Morris Tyler (1806-1876) and Mary Frisbie (Butler) Tyler. His father, a wholesale boot and shoe merchant, served as mayor of New Haven and Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. His father also was the second president of the New Haven & Derby Railroad from 1869 to 1874.

Education and career

Morris Franklin Tyler, the son, graduated from

Hillhouse High School James Hillhouse High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in New Haven, Connecticut. It serves grades 9–12. Formerly New Haven High School, it is the oldest public high school in New Haven, and is part of the New Haven Publi ...

in New Haven, and obtained A.B., A.M., and LL.B. degrees at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1873, and opened a law office in New Haven. He served as executive secretary to Connecticut Governor

Hobart B. Bigelow Hobart Baldwin Bigelow (May 16, 1834 – October 12, 1891) was an American politician and the 50th Governor of Connecticut. Biography Bigelow was born in North Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, on May 16, 1834. He was educated in the Sout ...

in 1881-82. In 1878, he co-founded the New Haven District Telephone Company, which opened the world's first commercial

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

and published the first classified

telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization tha ...

. As the firm expanded, it was reorganized as the Connecticut Telephone Company, and in 1882, as the

Southern New England Telephone Company The Southern New England Telephone Company (SNET), doing business as Frontier Communications of Connecticut, is a local exchange carrier owned by Frontier Communications. History It started operations on January 28, 1878, as the District Teleph ...

. He was elected president in 1883, and led the company through more than two decades of growth. During the 1890s, while continuing to lead Southern New England Telephone, he also served Yale Law School as a professor of law, and from 1899-1904 was university treasurer. He resigned in 1904 to devote his full attention to the telephone company.

Personal life

In 1873, he married Della Talman, granddaughter of artist

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...

. They had five children. He died at home in New Haven on December 4, 1907."School and Alumni Notes", ''Yale Law Journal'', January 1908

Legacy

The Morris Tyler Moot Court of Appeals, at Yale Law School, is named for him.

References

External links

Biographical Sketch on Morris Tyler Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Morris Franklin 1848 births 1907 deaths Yale Law School alumni American telecommunications industry businesspeople American chief executives Businesspeople from New Haven, Connecticut 19th-century American businesspeople