Dr. Leonard Dunnell Gale (July 25, 1800 – October 22, 1883) was a professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

who helped

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

develop the

electromagnetic telegraph Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...

Education and work in chemistry

Gale was a graduate of

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. After graduating, he devoted himself to the pursuit of chemistry and became a professor in several institutions of learning. In 1833 he made a geological survey of

Manhattan Island Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and not long afterward was appointed professor of chemistry and mineralogy in the New York City University.

Work with Samuel Morse

In 1836, he formed the acquaintance of

, and by his familiarity with the discoveries of Professor Henry was enabled to render his colleague's project of an

successful in operation. In 1846 he came to Washington, and for eleven years was an examiner in the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

in charge of the department of chemical inventions. In 1857, having been removed from that office, he practiced in Washington, D.C. for some years as an expert and attorney in chemical applications. He is buried in the Washington

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, Leonard American chemists Union College (New York) alumni 1800 births 1883 deaths Scientists from New York (state)