Samuel Morse

Date of Birth: April 27, 1791

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Date of Death: April 2, 1872

Biography

Samuel Finley Breese Morse was an American inventor and painter born on April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He is best known for his development of the telegraph system and co-inventing the Morse code, a method of encoding text characters through sequences of dots and dashes. His early career was as a painter, and he was highly regarded for his portraits, including those of prominent figures such as President John Adams and Marquis de Lafayette. Morse’s interest in electromagnetism and communication technologies grew after hearing about the advances in European telegraphy while on a sea voyage back to the United States in 1832. By 1837, he had developed a working model of the telegraph. After years of lobbying, he secured funding from Congress in 1843 to build a telegraph line from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland. The first successful message, “What hath God wrought,” was sent on May 24, 1844, marking the birth of long-distance electronic communication. In addition to his work in telegraphy, Morse was a founder of the National Academy of Design and held a professorship at New York University. He died on April 2, 1872, in New York City, leaving behind a legacy that forever transformed communication.

5 Interesting Facts about Samuel Morse

1. Samuel Morse initially pursued a career as a painter and was an accomplished artist before turning to invention.

2. His first successful telegraph message, “What hath God wrought,” was sent from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland.

3. Morse code, the communication method he co-developed, is still used in various forms of communication today.

4. Morse received a patent for the telegraph in 1847.

5. He was a founder of the National Academy of Design in New York City.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Samuel Morse

1. “What hath God wrought?”

2. “My invention can be used for both good and evil; it is for the users to decide.”

3. “If the presence of electricity can be made visible in any part of the circuit, I see no reason why intelligence may not be transmitted instantaneously by electricity.”

4. “To be a painter, one must study anatomy, and to be a sculptor, one must study geology.”

5. “Science and art belong to the whole world, and before them vanish the barriers of nationality.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Samuel Morse’s highest net worth at the time of his death was estimated to be around $500,000, a considerable sum in the 19th century, roughly equivalent to $10 million today.

Children

Samuel Morse had four children: 1. Susan Walker Morse (1819–1885) 2. Charles Walker Morse (1823–1887) 3. James Edward Finley Morse (1825–1825) 4. Samuel Arthur Breese Morse (1849–1912)