Who is Samuel Morse? Biography, Facts & Telegraph

Samuel Morse is one of the most famous scientists who has strengthened his place in world history by creating the electric telegraph that succeeded in connecting the four corners of our world. He is one of the American inventors remembered today for being the inventor of the single-wire telegraph system and co-inventor of the Morse code. Morse, who is also intertwined with art, is a history and portrait painter. He discovered the sequence of open and closed tones by developing the method of transmitting textual information as the telegraph.

Its discovery changed the way messages are sent, and even today Morse code is still used in various fields of radio communication. Though he was considered poor for the majority of his life, he lived as an extremely successful painter until he turned his interests into electromagnetism and electrical communications. His works are still exhibited in various museums today and he made his living through these works for a long time.

Who is Samuel Morse?

Although he spent most of his life as a scientist and most people think of the Morse alphabet when he is called Morse, Morse was actually a person whose main orientation was art since childhood. His real name is Samuel Finley Breese Morse. Samuel Morse, who graduated from Yale University in 1810, returned to America in 1815 and founded a studio in Boston. He married Lucretia Walker in 1818 and soon had three children. When Morse examined his work, he discovered that his large paintings grabbed attention, but did not sell too much.

His portraits, which were not widely historical depictions, were his most loved ones, and he had to travel from New England to the Carolinas to find commissions to sell his paintings. Morse painted some of his most notable works during this period, including portraits of Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington. His works were perceived as dramatic depictions, creating a link with romance, albeit lacking in technical competence.

The Life of Samuel Morse

Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born on April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was the first son of a cleric Jedidiah Morse and Elizabeth Breese of New Jersey. His siblings helped him with many issues during his adult years. Morse had an extremely firm commitment to education, and Phillips Academy accepted Samuel into his schools at the age of seven. Even though he wasn’t a star student at the school, his drawing skills were good. Thanks to the encouragement of both his teachers and his family, the ivory miniature portraits led to Samuel’s success.

Samuel graduated from Yale College in 1810. He wanted a career in the arts, but his father opposed it. Samuel served as a clerk at the Charlestown bookstore. During this time he continued to paint. His father changed his mind and in 1811 Morse went to England to learn the art. During this time, Morse worked with the respected American artist Benjamin West at the Royal Academy. Turning to electromagnetism and machinery after releasing the picture, Morse made many inventions throughout his life and spent most of his life-fighting patent wars. Samuel Morse passed away at his home in New York on April 2, 1872, on the eve of his marriage to his second wife, Sarah Elizabeth Griswold.

Samuel Morse’s Invention

After studying the work of the American physicist Joseph Henry, Samuel Morse developed a prototype of his famous and most important work, the telegraph.

In 1836, many scientists in Europe were also working on telegraphs, and Morse knew about them, but no one had yet developed a fully functional device capable of transmitting over long distances. In 1838, Morse formed a partnership with his colleague Alfred Vail and provided funds. As a result of long studies, he succeeded in the development of the point and line system in signal transmission known as Morse code.

Morse struggled to find investors for years until Maine Congressman Francis Ormand caught the attention of Jonathan Smith. In December 1842, Morse installed cables and sent messages between two committee rooms in the Capitol. With the support of Smith, the show went to Morse in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, Baltimore, earned $ 30,000 in congressional allowances to set up a 70-kilometer test line.

On May 24, 1844, Morse delivered his first world-famous message, “What did God do?” He managed to convey his word. As soon as Morse received his patent on the telegraph in 1847, he was hit by lawsuits from partners and rival inventors. Legal battles were concluded in favor of O’Reilly and Morse in the US Supreme Court decision. Morse stated that it is the first time that it has developed a viable telegraph. Despite the court’s express verdict, Morse received no official approval from the US government.