Samuel Morse

27 April 1791 – 2 April 1872

Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) was an American inventor and painter who co-developed the single-wire electric telegraph and the Morse code. Originally a celebrated portrait artist, he demonstrated the first practical American telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore in 1844.

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Life events

Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts
27 April 1791

Samuel Morse was born the first child of the geographer and clergyman Jedidiah Morse.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Graduated from Yale College
1810

Morse graduated from Yale, where he had studied religious philosophy, mathematics, and lectures on electricity.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Studied painting in England
1811 – 1815

Morse travelled to England to study art under Washington Allston and at the Royal Academy in London.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Lucretia Pickering Walker
29 September 1818

Morse married Lucretia Walker in Concord, New Hampshire; her early death in 1825 deeply affected him.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Co-founded the National Academy of Design and became its first president
1826

Morse helped establish the New York academy to promote American fine arts and led it as president.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Conceived the idea of the electric telegraph aboard the ship Sully
October 1832

During a voyage home from Europe, conversations about electromagnetism inspired Morse to begin designing a single-wire telegraph.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Received a U.S. patent for the telegraph
20 June 1840

Morse was granted a patent for his electromagnetic telegraph apparatus.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Sent the message 'What hath God wrought' over the Washington-Baltimore telegraph line
24 May 1844

Morse officially opened the first American long-distance telegraph line with a message from the U.S. Capitol to Baltimore.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Sarah Elizabeth Griswold
10 August 1848

Morse married his second wife, Sarah Griswold, in Utica, New York; the couple had four children.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in New York City
2 April 1872

Morse died at his home in New York at the age of 80 and was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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