Morse, Samuel Finley Breese

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese (1791-1872), American artist and inventor, known for his invention of the electric telegraph and the Morse code.

Morse was born in Charlestown (now part of Boston), Massachusetts, on April 27, 1791, and educated at Yale College (now Yale University). He studied painting in London and became a successful portrait painter and sculptor. In 1825 he helped found the National Academy of Design in New York, and the following year he became the first president of the institution. He continued his painting and became a professor of painting and sculpture at New York University in 1832. At about that time he became interested in chemical and electrical experiments and developed apparatus for an electromagnetic telegraph that he completed in 1836. The following year he filed a caveat, or legal notice, at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C., and tried without success to obtain European patents for his apparatus. He also invented a code, now known as the Morse code, for use with his telegraph instrument.

In 1843 the Congress of the United States appropriated US$30,000 for Morse to construct an experimental telegraph line between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. The line was successfully installed, and on May 24, 1844, Morse sent the first message: “What hath God wrought!” Morse was subsequently involved in much litigation over his claim to the invention of the telegraph, and the courts decided in his favour. He received many honours. Later he experimented with submarine cable telegraphy. Morse died in New York on April 2, 1872. Morse code continued to be used for distress signals at sea until 1999, when by international agreement it was replaced with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System.