Morse Telegraph

Samuel Morse, USA, patent 1,647 of 1840. The code and line that shrank distance itself.

Overview

Morse, a painter, patented the electromagnetic telegraph with Vail and Gale after witnessing electromagnetism aboard ship. The 1844 Washington-Baltimore line carried What hath God wrought. Western Union consolidated the industry under his licensing. His dot-dash code standardized until radio era. Joseph Henry had demonstrated the principle earlier without patenting, a lasting priority controversy. Within 30 years continents were cabled and news moved at electricity's speed.