Gale was a professor of chemistry at what was to become New York University, where Morse was professor of painting. He advised Morse on batteries and electromagnets for his experiments in telegraphy, so signal strength could be increased, and suggested he read a relevant paper of Henry’s, a personal friend of Gale’s. Vail and Gale as crucial technical collaborators of Morse’s were brought in a business partners in the venture, though perhaps inevitably they eventually fell out over the matter of royalties.