Today in Technology History
(To receive "Today in Technology History" by e-mail, click here. To read past issues click here.)
June 20
So many individuals had a hand in inventing the telegraph that it is notoriously difficult to assign credit for the invention. Nonetheless, much of the praise must go to Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872). An American painter who studied art in Europe, Morse took an interest in telegraphy as early as 1832. He built a working telegraph and -- perhaps more importantly -- began aggressively promoting the invention. In the early 1840s, Morse spearheaded the effort to build the first U.S. telegraph line connecting two cities.
The image above is from Morse's historic patent. Click the image to see the entire first page. It was on June 20, 1840, that Morse received a patent for what he called "Telegraph Signs." According to the patent papers (U.S. patent number 1,647), Morse claimed as his invention "a new and useful machine and system of signs for transmitting intelligence between distant points."
While Morse's hardware is of historical interest, it was quickly improved upon by others. More significant is the system of dots and dashes contained in that patent: the original version of what we today call "Morse code."
After Morse code was simplified and then adapted for languages other than English, it played a central part in the communications revolution of the nineteenth century. For much of the twentieth century, Morse code was used by maritime telegraphers, and the familiar Morse code for the distress signal SOS (· · · - - - · · ·) helped save many thousands of lives. Today, however, advances in digital technology and satellite communication have brought an end to most of Morse code's usefulness.
Related links:
Click here to read the Encyclopedia Britannica entry for Morse code.
Click here to read more about Morse.
Click here for links related to the invention of the telegraph.
| Biotechnology | Convergence | Creativity | Culture | E-conomics | Education |
| Equity | Gov't & Politics | Innovation | National Security | Personal Security |
For errors, broken links, questions or comments,
contact webmaster@tecsoc.org.
