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Samuel Morse Facts

Samuel Morse Facts
Samuel Morse was an American inventor and artist most well-known for co-inventing the Morse code and inventing the single-wire telegraph. He was born Samuel Finley Breese Morse on April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts to Jedidiah Morse, a geographer and pastor, and Elizabeth Ann Finley Breese. Samuel went to school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and then Yale College, where he developed an interest in electricity. While at school he earned a living through his art, and after graduating Phi Beta Kappa at Yale he left for England to further study art. It wasn't until 1825, when Samuel's wife died (without him even knowing she had become sick) that he was inspired to create a method for transferring information quickly over long distances. This would lead to the single-wire telegraph invention.
Interesting Samuel Morse Facts:
Samuel's father was a supporter of the American Federalists, as well as being a pastor of the Calvinist faith.
While at Yale Samuel studied horse anatomy, mathematics, and religious philosophy.
Samuel left on a three-year trip to England with artist Washington Allston in 1811.
Samuel attended the Royal Academy in England and painted his masterpiece while a student there, titled Dying Hercules.
While at the Royal Academy Samuel Morse studied the work of Michelangelo and Raphael.
While in England, the War of 1812 broke out at home in America. Samuel began to oppose the Federalist party that his father supported.
In 1815 Samuel Morse left England to return home. He set up a studio in Boston.
In 1818 Samuel Morse married Lucretia Walker. They had three children.
Samuel Morse focused his art on commissions, creating portraits, although he preferred to paint large paintings depicting historical events. During this time he painted George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette.
In February, 1825, Lucretia gave birth to their daughter and subsequently died. Samuel did not hear about her being ill until she was already dead.
Samuel's father and mother both passed away in the next few years.
In 1829 Samuel took a break and traveled to Europe. On his trip home he met another man with similar interests and they began to discuss electrical impulses and their ability to travel for long distances.
The inability to communicate over long distances in a short period of time inspired Samuel to begin work on an invention that would make fast communication possible - the single-wire telegraph.
Alfred Vail helped Samuel Morse financially and intellectually to develop the Morse code - a system of dots and dashes.
In 1842 Samuel Morse gained attention for his telegraph when he strung wires between two rooms in the Capitol that made it possible to transmit messages from room to room.
In 1844 Samuel Morse tapped out his first long distance Morse code message between Baltimore and Washington. His message was, "What hath God wrought!"
Samuel Morse was not recognized as the inventor of the telegraph until 1848, a year after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that he was in fact the inventor of the telegraph.
Samuel Morse died April 2nd, 1872, at the age of 80, from pneumonia.


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