Samuel Finley Breeze Morse(Morse) (April 27, 1791, Charleston, USA - April 2, 1872, New York), American artist and inventor. In 1837 he invented the electromechanical telegraph apparatus. In 1838 he developed a telegraph code (Morse code).
Born into the family of the famous geographer and Congregationalist priest Jedediah Morse (1761-1826). He studied at Yale College and developed an interest in electricity and painting, drawing miniature portraits. After graduating from college in 1810, Morse became a clerk in Boston, but painting remained his main hobby. In 1811, his parents helped him travel to England to study painting, including the “historical” style. There he created a number of historical paintings. During the War of 1812 between England and the United States, he took a pro-American position. In 1815, he returned to his homeland, but the Americans did not appreciate his historical canvases. In order to earn a living, he returned to portrait painting and worked in New England, New York and South Carolina. Among his friends were the American Revolutionary War hero Marquis Lafayette and the novelist Fenimore Cooper .
In 1826, Morse founded the National Academy of Drawing and served as its first president from 1826 to 1845.
In 1832, while sailing on a ship from Europe to the United States, influenced by reports of the invention of the electromagnet, he began to think about the possibility of creating an electric telegraph. Although such ideas had already been put forward, Morse believed that he was the first to make this proposal. He made the first working model of a telegraph in 1835. At this time, he still devoted most of his time to painting, teaching at New York University (where he became a professor of painting and sculpture in 1832) and politics.
Since 1837, Morse began to devote his main attention to his invention. One university colleague showed him a description of an alternative model proposed in 1831, and another suggested that his models be built at his family's ironworks. Both of them became Morse's partners.
In 1838, he developed a system of dots and dashes for coded message transmission, which became known throughout the world as Morse code. In the same year, he attempted to install a telegraph line in the Congress building; this failed, but one of the congressmen became another of his partners.
After unsuccessful attempt establish a telegraph line in Europe in 1843, Morse received financial support from Congress ($30,000) to create the first experimental telegraph line in the United States from Baltimore to Washington. In 1844 the line was completed, and on May 24, 1844, he sent the first telegraph message: “Wonderful are your works, Lord!”
Morse was immediately drawn into patent litigation by partners and rival inventors, and vigorously fought for his rights, which were recognized by the US Supreme Court in 1854. Later he experimented with an underwater telegraph cable. Telegraph lines were installed on both sides of the Atlantic.
In his later years, being a wealthy man, Morse was engaged in philanthropic activities - helping colleges, churches and poor artists.
V. I. Levin
Everyone knows what Morse code is. But not many people know about its author. Meanwhile, Samuel Finley Breeze Morse is an unusual figure. The son of a priest turned artist; artist turned inventor; inventor turned rich; a rich man who became a philanthropist - it's all about him. Meet the same Morse!
A PICTURE BEGINNING
Samuel Morse's father, Jejediah Morse, was very interested in geography, but served as a church minister. Reverend Morse did not live to see his son's greatest achievement. But Morse Jr. achieved some success during his father’s lifetime. In 1807, Samuel left his native Charlestown (Massachusetts, USA) and entered Yale College. After graduating, Morse got a job as a clerk in Boston. But this work did not occupy him as much as his main hobby at that time - painting. In addition to the desire to paint, Samuel had the talent of an artist. And he decided to go to Europe to take additional painting lessons there.
We must give Samuel Morse his due: he never thought or lived as if achievements would come to him by themselves. This man set a goal for himself, and then steadily walked towards it... And the knowledge, circumstances, and people necessary to achieve the goal invariably appeared on his path. Morse's first serious successes were related to painting. In 1813, he presented the painting “The Dying Hercules” to the Royal Academy of Arts in London and was awarded a gold medal. Returning to America, Morse began painting 4 portraits a week, receiving $60 for each. Thus, he earned 3 thousand dollars in a year. Samuel could now marry, and in 1818 he married a girl named Lucretia Walker.
Within a few years, Morse’s talent was appreciated by his colleagues: he was recognized as a leader of young American artists. Samuel painted many portraits, and his clients included American Revolutionary War hero Marquis Lafayette and US President Munro. In 1826, Morse founded the National Academy of Drawing in New York and became its first president.
Once, when he once again went to study painting in Europe, Morse painted the painting “Louvre” there. In the background he depicted a whole gallery of world masterpieces: “Mona Lisa”, “ last supper“... In this way he wanted to introduce Americans to great works that had not yet been seen in America at that time. Inspired, Samuel packed his canvas and, on October 1, 1832, stepped aboard the packet boat Sally to go home. As one of Morse's biographers said, "he came aboard as an artist and landed as an inventor."
IF YOU GET IT WELL...
Here is how it was. On the ship, the famous doctor Charles T. Jackson (discoverer of anesthesia and new methods of pain relief in medicine) demonstrated a focus experience to passengers: the compass needle, when a piece of wire connected to a galvanic element was brought to it, began to rotate. Samuel watched the experiment carefully. Just at this time, M. Faraday’s book was published in Europe. “Extracting sparks from a magnet” seemed like a miracle. But Samuel saw this miracle as the beginning of another, more useful miracle: what if a combination of sparks were used as a code to send messages across wires? The idea completely captured him. Morse was not an electrical specialist. But he firmly believed that you can achieve anything, you just have to get down to business: God will enlighten you!
During that month, while Morse was sailing home, he even sketched several drawings. However, the three years of effort that Samuel spent on assembling the apparatus according to his drawings did not yield results. Lack of knowledge affected. A difficult period in his life began for Samuel Morse. His wife died, leaving three small children in his arms... To top it all off, Congress rejected Morse’s candidacy when it was necessary to write historical paintings for the US Capitol. Morse's disappointment was so great that he gave up his career as an artist.
And although in 1835 Morse became a professor of painting and drawing at the newly opened New York University, his attention was now increasingly occupied by a new matter: the invention of the telegraph apparatus.
"GARLAND"
In 1837, Morse demonstrated his invention at New York University. The signal was sent along a wire about 518m long. One of those invited to the presentation, industrialist Steve Weil, agreed to provide Morse with space for experiments and 2 thousand dollars. But with one condition: Morse had to take his son, Alfred Vail, as a partner. Morse agreed, and Alfred, who had a practical streak, provided him with invaluable assistance. In 1838, Samuel Morse developed a system of signals - dots and dashes - to encode the transmission of messages - the famous Morse code.
But one problem remained unresolved: how to transmit signals over very long distances so that both coasts of America could be connected by telegraph? Morse went for advice from another inventor, Joseph Henry, who had designed a relay six years earlier. (Henry left it to others to find applications for his invention, while he began other research). Henry advised Morse to connect many electrical circuits into one “garland”, inserting its own current source and relay into each circuit. “Garland” made it possible to transmit a signal over long distances using the principle of a relay race: each battery could transmit it only over a limited distance, but connected together, they carried the message to the finish line. Now it was possible to “weave” such a “garland” from Baltimore to New York and test the invention in practice. It's begun for Samuel Good times. The matter moved forward, and in 1843 (after a seven-year wait) he received 30 thousand dollars from the US Congress to create an experimental telegraph line in the United States.
FIRST TELEGRAM
But even in the life of the determined Morse, there was a moment when he was ready to give up. This happened shortly before his victory. Here is how it was. When the subsidy bill was finally presented to the House of Representatives, the deputies reacted to Morse's idea as funny joke. The fifty-two-year-old inventor sat in the guest gallery with the flat witticisms of the deputies. In the end, he left the hall in despair without waiting for the vote. The session ended the next morning. Even if the bill were passed, President Tyler would not have time to sign it... Morse paid the hotel bill and bought a train ticket to New York. He only had thirty-seven cents left in his pocket.
But the next morning, the daughter of his friend, the government commissioner of patents, appeared with fantastic news: the bill had been “smuggled through,” and Tyler signed it at midnight. Morse was happy! Now he had money (the same 30 thousand dollars from Congress) to lay a trial telegraph line. To celebrate, Morse promised the girl that he would send the world's first telegram in her honor, and invited her to come up with the content herself. The girl chose words from the Bible: “Wonderful are Your works, O Lord!”
"TALKING LIGHTNING"
On May 27, 1844, the first telegraph message was sent using Morse code and the Morse telegraph apparatus. A key invented by the Russian scientist B. S. Jacobi was used to transmit the signal, and an electromagnet was used to receive the signal, the armature of which controlled the movement of the ink pen on the paper. When Morse was able to learn through the telegraph about events in the capital on the same day they occurred (an unprecedented phenomenon at that time!), his “talking lightning” created a sensation. And soon Morse met the talented businessman O’Reilly, who planned and carried out an entire campaign to equip many cities with telegraphs. “Talking lightning” conquered America... and then the whole world: in 1851, the German “Telegraph Commission” assessed the advantages of the Morse apparatus over others, and it found its wide application.
Of course, many more difficulties arose along the way of Morse's idea: the first cables were imperfect and failed in bad weather; farmers, irritated by the noise from the telegraph line, threatened to break the wires; There were constantly people wanting to challenge the copyright for the invention of the Morse apparatus in court. But in the end, all the lawsuits were won, and the inventor was finally able to enjoy the fruits of his hard work. He was regularly paid for using the patent, and he became a rich man. Samuel Morse, already during his lifetime, was able to make sure that his credo was true: anything can be achieved if you get down to business well. Samuel Finley Breeze Morse lived to be 81 years old. What did he do in his declining years? Experimented with underwater telegraph cable. And also how true son priest, he was involved in charity work: helping colleges, churches... and, of course, poor artists.
The telegraph alphabet used today is significantly different from the one invented in 1838 by Samuel Morse. In the original Morse code, some characters had pauses within their codes. This made it difficult to receive radiograms. For example, the Latin letter C was then encrypted as “two dots-pause-dot”, i.e., essentially, like the letters I and E, transmitted one after another. That's why they soon appeared various options telegraph alphabet, which did not contain codes with pauses. Modern version The international Morse code appeared relatively recently - in 1939, after the final adjustment. But the original version of Morse code was still used on railways until the mid-60s of the XX century.
Samuel Morse short biography American inventor and artist who created the electromagnetic writing telegraph (“Morse apparatus”, 1836) and the Morse code (code).
Samuel Morse biography briefly
Morse was born on April 27, 1791 in Charlestown (near Boston) into a wealthy American family. Already from childhood, his parents noticed his talent for drawing.
After successfully graduating from school, Morse entered Yale College. And in 1811, his parents, although they opposed this hobby of their son, sent him to England to study art at the Royal Academy of Arts and in the studio of B. West. For his first public painting he received a gold medal.
In 1815 he returned to Boston, where he was not perceived as an artist. For ten years he had to lead the life of a traveling painter, earning a living by painting portraits.
After his marriage in 1818 he went to New York to make a living. In 1825, Morse founded the National Academy of Design in New York, of which he served as president from 1826 to 1845.
But Morse was interested not only in painting; electricity aroused his great interest. In 1835, Morse became professor of descriptive arts. But after being shown a description of the telegraph model proposed by Wilhelm Weber in 1833 at the university in 1836, he devoted himself entirely to invention.
It took Morse years of work and study to get his telegraph working. In September 1837, he finally demonstrated his invention: by pressing a special key, short or long pulses were transmitted, which were recorded on a moving tape at the receiving end. The American capitalist Weil donated $2,000 to promote the new project and provided premises for research. At this very time, Morse's wife died, leaving him with three children. He was forced to work and raise children.
The invented apparatus required new financial investments for constant improvement, which there was nowhere to get. It was not until 1843 that the scientist was able to obtain a subsidy of $30,000 to establish a forty-mile trial telegraph line. However, government and public interest in Morse's telegraph disappeared, which is why Morse had to open a private Joint-Stock Company for laying telegraph lines, which justified itself literally two years later, and the brilliant inventor finally got rich.
In August 1848, the scientist married again. Samuel Morse spent the last years of his life in peace and prosperity.
Samuel Morse personal life
On September 29, 1818, Morse married Lucretia Pickering Walker. The marriage produced three children. After the death of his first wife, Morse remarried on August 10, 1848, to Elizabeth Griswold. The marriage produced four children.
Samuel Morse interesting facts
Morse studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, but when he returned to America he eked out a meager existence by painting portraits. For ten years he had to lead the life of a traveling painter.
Among his friends were the politician M.-J. Lafayette, novelist J.F. Cooper and even US President A. Lincoln.
In 1858, Morse received 400,000 francs from ten European countries for his invention.
In his old age, Morse became a philanthropist. He patronized schools, universities, churches, Bible societies, missionaries and poor artists.
At the time of his death, his estate was valued at about US$500,000, which is about $10.2 million today.
Everyone has heard about Morse code. And although it has long since become irrelevant, almost everyone can remember at least one word, or rather not a word, but simply a signal - SOS. That is, it is a Morse code symbol, which is a sequence of “three dots - three dashes - three dots” transmitted without pauses between letters.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse (born April 27, 1791, Charleston - died April 2, 1872, New York) American artist and inventor. In 1837 he invented the electromechanical telegraph apparatus. In 1838 he developed a telegraph code for it (Morse code).
Born into the family of the famous geographer and Congregationalist priest Jedediah Morse (1761-1826). He studied at Yale College (1807-1811) and showed an interest in electricity and painting, drawing miniature portraits. After graduating from college in 1810, Morse became a clerk in Boston, but painting remained his main hobby. In 1811, his parents helped him go to England to study painting, including the “historical” style. There he created a number of historical paintings.
He studied painting with Washington Alston. Morse showed great promise as an artist, but he was constrained by the fact that he unconditionally accepted the then fashionable intellectual concept that painting dedicated to historical antiquity was much higher than art depicting the life of his contemporaries.
During the War of 1812 between England and the United States, he took a pro-American position. In 1815 he returned to his homeland, but the Americans did not appreciate his historical canvases. In order to make a living, he returned to portraiture and worked in New England, New York and South Carolina. His friends included American Revolutionary War hero Marquis Lafayette and novelist Fenimore Cooper.
In 1817, Morse received $60 per portrait, and he could paint four portraits a week. He toured the South and returned in 1818 with three thousand dollars, which enabled him to marry Lucretia Walker of Concord.
With this capital, Morse moved to Charleston, South Carolina, abandoned portraits and spent the next year and a half working on a huge historical canvas for the House of Representatives in Washington. The painting failed to sell. The money ran out and he went back to New York. In New York, he was commissioned to create a large portrait of Lafayette, who was touring America at that time. Morse painted two portraits. Talent is felt in all the portraits by Morse, but his “Lafayette” was already the creation of a mature and serious master. Yet Morse was not satisfied, despite the fact that a few years later he was recognized as the leader of young American artists. In 1829 he again went to Europe to continue his studies.
In 1826, Morse founded the National Academy of Drawing and served as its first president from 1826 to 1845.
In America, artists devoted to their chosen genres were doomed to a half-starved existence, or, like Pils, they opened private museums where they exhibited their canvases along with all sorts of curiosities. Pils's experience gave Morse the idea to paint a picture that would interest America, which had never seen the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and other masterpieces of world art either in original or in copy. He painted the painting “Louvre”, in the background of which he depicted as many masterpieces as the canvas could contain. In 1832, Morse, full of hope, packed his canvases and returned to America on the packet boat Sally. He came aboard the Sally as an artist and came ashore as an inventor.
On board the conversation turned to European experiments in electromagnetism. Not long before, Faraday's book was published, and his experiments were repeated in many European laboratories. “Extracting sparks from a magnet” was one of the miracles of that time. Morse immediately suggested that the combination of sparks could be used as a code to transmit messages over wires. This idea captivated him, despite the fact that even the most basic rules of electricity were almost unknown to him. Morse at that time firmly believed that Americans could achieve anything if they just got down to business. What does it matter if there is no special knowledge and training (God will enlighten you!). He spent twenty years studying painting; however, it never occurred to him that a career as an electrical inventor also required preparation.
During the month-long voyage, Morse sketched several preliminary drawings. He spent the next three years trying unsuccessfully to build an apparatus using them, working in the attic of his brother Richard's house. To add insult to injury, Morse had neither time nor peace of mind. His wife died, and he was left with three small children.
In 1834, Morse had the ambitious idea of painting historical paintings for the four still empty panels of the Rotunda in the Capitol building. He made a request to a number of congressmen, but John Quincy Adams did not believe that the American artist was capable of writing in the style necessary for such work. The refusal was such a disappointment for Morse that he actually abandoned painting, although he was only forty-three years old and in the prime of his strength and talent.
IN next year he was appointed professor of painting and drawing at the newly opened New York University, created by such enlightened minds of New York as Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving and others. Morse received a small salary, on which, however, he could live. He returned to work on the electromagnetic telegraph.
He made the first working model of a telegraph in 1835. At this time, he still devoted most of his time to painting, teaching at New York University (where he became a professor of painting and sculpture in 1832) and politics.
Since 1837, Morse began to devote his main attention to his invention. One university colleague showed him a description of an alternative model proposed in 1831, and another suggested that his models be built at his family's ironworks. Both of them became partners with S. Morse.
In 1838 he developed a system of dots and dashes for coded message transmission, which became known throughout the world as Morse code. In the same year, he attempted to install a telegraph line in the Congress building; this failed, but one of the congressmen became another of his partners.
After an unsuccessful attempt to create a telegraph line in Europe in 1843, Morse received financial support from Congress ($30,000) to create the first experimental telegraph line in the United States, from Baltimore to Washington. In 1844 the line was completed, and on May 24, 1844 he sent the first telegraph message: “Wonderful are your works, Lord!”
In September 1837, Morse demonstrated his invention at New York University. The signal was sent over 1,700 feet of wire. Among the guests in the hall was the successful industrialist from New Jersey, Stephen Weil, who agreed to donate 2 thousand dollars and provide premises for experiments, on the condition that Morse would take his son Alfred as an assistant. Morse agreed, and this was the most successful step in his life. Alfred Vail had not only real ingenuity, but also a keen practical sense. Over the following years, Vail was largely instrumental in developing the final form of Morse code, introducing the telegraph key instead of the connecting rod, and reducing the size of the apparatus to the compact model that became generally accepted. He also invented the printing telegraph, which was patented in the name of Morse, according to. terms of the Weil and Morse contract.
Soon after meeting with Vail, Morse learned that the government had offered financial assistance to an inventor who could connect the entire coast by telegraph. In December 1837, he asked Congress for help. The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Francis O. J. Smith, was so impressed by the Morse apparatus demonstration that he resigned his post and became Morse's partner. Smith was an unscrupulous businessman. His gift for public rhetoric and his penchant for double-dealing caused trouble for Morse.
The panic of 1837 forced the government to abandon all subsidies. Smith sent Morse to Europe to obtain patents for his invention. In England, Morse was told that Wheatstone had already invented the electromagnetic telegraph, which he could verify by visiting the nearest post office. On the continent of Morse it became known that the electromagnetic telegraph had already been invented by Steinhale: “You can go to the nearest railway station and see for yourself!” While in France, Morse became friends with another unsuccessful inventor, Daguerre, who, with no less difficulty than Morse, tried to obtain a patent for the method of photography he had discovered. Comrades in misfortune, they agreed that each of them would defend the interests of the other in their own country.
In Russia, Morse learned that Baron Schilling, the Russian ambassador to Austria, had invented the electromagnetic telegraph back in 1825, but the very idea of instant communication between people in the far ends of the country seemed so seditious to the tsar that he forbade even mentioning this invention in print.
Smith went to Washington. None of the foreign telegraph systems was as simple and successful as the Morse apparatus. Therefore, the inventor did not give up hope, although his situation had never been so desperate. He decided to earn a little extra money. For this purpose, in addition to painting, he opened a small photography studio using the Daguerre method. But this enterprise also failed.
Vail left New York and taught somewhere in the South. Morse eventually went to Princeton to consult with Joseph Henry.
Henry himself was not interested in developing the details of the electromagnetic telegraph. After he invented the relay, the main problem was solved. And Henry took up more exciting and interesting research. He knew that sooner or later someone determined enough would appear to see the job through to completion. Morse seemed to him to be just such a person.
Henry liked Morse's obsession and was willing to help him. He patiently explained to Morse his mistakes and pointed out that a single battery, no matter how powerful it was, could only send an electrical signal a limited distance.
The relay, invented by Henry six years earlier, could solve the problem Morse faced.
The transmitter circuit was not connected directly to the receiving device. Instead of a receiving device, a horseshoe-shaped soft iron core wrapped in wire was included in the circuit. An armature was placed between the poles of the electromagnet. As the operator closed and opened the circuit by sending electrical impulses through the magnet's winding, the armature was attracted toward or away from the magnet. The armature, in turn, completed another electrical circuit with its own battery and electromagnet, which operated in exactly the same way as the first circuit. The second circuit controlled a third independent electrical circuit. In this way it was possible to assemble an endless garland of electrical circuits. Each circuit had its own current source and relay.
Henry explained to Morse that such a chain system could transmit electrical signals thousands of miles, and at the end of the "daisy chain" the impulse strength would be equal to the intensity of the transmitted signal.
Morse returned to New York and redesigned his apparatus in accordance with Henry's instructions.
Morse first applied for subsidies to the government back in 1837. However, despite the promises that ex-Congressman Smith repeated month after month, it was not until 1843 that Morse's request was granted.
When the subsidy bill was finally introduced into the House of Representatives, members treated it as a funny joke. Magnetism seemed to them something like mesmerism. Fifty-two-year-old Morse listened to the flat witticisms of the deputies from the guest gallery and left the hall in despair without waiting for the vote. The session ended the next morning. Even if the bill is passed, President Tyler will not have time to sign it.
Morse paid his hotel bill and bought a train ticket to New York, after which he had only thirty-seven cents left. The next morning the daughter of his friend, the government patent commissioner, came with the fantastic news that Smith's friends had managed to get the bill through without any silly amendments, and Tyler had signed it at midnight. Morse was happy. He promised the girl that he would send the world's first telegram in her honor, and invited her to come up with the content herself. The girl chose words from the Bible: “Wonderful are your works, Lord!”
Morse could receive a government subsidy of thirty thousand dollars on the condition that the first trial line of 40 miles would be installed. Smith rewarded himself by taking on the construction contract. Morse and Vail decided to make an underground line by placing a complex device in a lead pipe. Engineer Ezra Cornell designed a special plow that would simultaneously dig a trench, lay the cable, and bury the trench.
Smith spent almost twenty thousand dollars on the first few miles. Morse could not find a place for himself, burning with anxiety. Cornell, on its own initiative, tested the already installed cable and found that the line was paralyzed by many short circuits. It turned out that Smith decided not to spend precious dollars on such a “trifle” as insulation.
Cornell proposed hanging bare wires on poles to ensure fast and cheap telegraph communication with Baltimore and avoid scandal. But Morse was seized with panic. He again went to see Henry for advice. Henry supported Cornell, and the entire line was suspended from trees and poles, using bottle necks as insulators. The laying was completed when the Whig party convention met in Baltimore to nominate a presidential candidate.
Vail went to Baltimore. He was instructed to immediately report to Morse in Washington about all events taking place at the convention.
Politicians rushing from Baltimore to the capital with urgent messages learned that the news had preceded the courier trains. A man named Morse spoke from Washington to Baltimore by wire.
Being the sole owner of the telegraph, Morse and his partners created the Magnetic Telegraph Company to lay a line between New York and Philadelphia. The company was a private joint stock company.
By that time, Morse had broken with Weil and most of his other aides.
The actual organizer of the construction of the line from the sea coast to the Mississippi was a certain businessman O'Reilly. He was completely ignorant in matters of telegraph and technology, but he knew how to trade stocks. Each section of the line between the two cities was considered separate enterprise. As a skilled commander, O'Reilly sent messengers ahead to announce the approach of the Talking Lightning. He collected tribute as quickly as he pulled wires. In less than two years, he laid thousands of miles of wires in all directions, creating so many joint-stock companies that the patent owners literally lost count.
Newspapers quickly became convinced of the advantages of the telegraph, and the Associated Press created its own wire service. By 1848, in small villages, residents were reading last news about the war in Mexico, just broadcast on Talking Lightning. Soon the telegraph began to be used on railways for signaling, communication and blocking. Owners of freight trains with livestock intended for export, approaching New York, warned the ship's captain by telegraph about the number of heads. He could prepare the decks for receiving livestock accordingly, and loading took no more than half an hour. For a long time all telegrams began with the address “Dear Sir” and ended with the words “With deep respect.”
The first lines constantly broke down in bad weather. One hundred and seventy cliffs were once discovered over a distance of thirty miles. Copper wire was rejected after testing and replaced by iron wire, and then it was replaced by braided cable. The linemen monitoring the line did not know peace. They were opposed not only by the forces of nature, but also by angry farmers who tried to cut the line because they were annoyed by the hum in the wires.
Only in 1856, when Hiram Sibley, about whom I wrote earlier, organized the Western Union Company, was it possible to restore some order. More and more lines arose, and Morse was paid each time for using the patent. The days of hardship are over. He spent his old age in wealth and fame. Morse repeatedly sued his competitors and invariably won his cases, although once for this he had to deny even that he had once used the valuable help of Joseph Henry.
Morse was immediately involved in patent litigation by partners and competing inventors, and vigorously fought for his rights, which were recognized by the US Supreme Court in 1854. Later he experimented with an underwater telegraph cable. Telegraph lines were installed on both sides of the Atlantic.
In his later years, being a wealthy man, Morse was engaged in philanthropic activities - helping colleges, churches and poor artists.
At all times, there are gifted people who are capable of developing and implementing extraordinary ideas, creating something extraordinary and necessary for humanity. As a rule, a pronounced talent leads its owner along his own special path in life, without deviating a single step from the intended path... And there are examples in history of unique people who have equally successfully mastered various areas, creating in each of them something fundamentally new and perfect. One of these outstanding representatives of humanity was Samuel Morse. Who is this Morse? What is he famous for?
Formation of the artist’s creative worldview
Samuel Morse, whose date of birth falls on April 27, 1791, was born in a small American town called Charlestown, located in Samuel's father was a preacher and early childhood I tried to awaken in my son a desire to learn.
As a result of parental efforts, the young man grew up inquisitive and talented. He successfully entered the university at Yale in 1805, during which his creative worldview of a constantly searching person was formed.
Study of painting
Painting aroused particular awe and interest in Morse. He studied her carefully student years, and, after graduating from university, went to England to learn painting from the legendary Washington Alston. According to contemporaries, the young man demonstrated remarkable abilities in the visual arts. Already in 1813 he wrote famous painting entitled "The Dying Hercules", which found a home in the London Arts Center. The work was highly appreciated by art lovers, and Morse was even awarded a gold medal for it. In 1815, the young artist returned to America.
Artist's success
At home, no less success awaited him - within a few years, Samuel Morse (photo) became the idol of aspiring artists of that time. Many talented works by his brush adorned the walls of museums and were highly appreciated even by the most discerning audience. He also painted a world-famous portrait of one of the US presidents, James Monroe.
Later, he became the founder of the famous National Academy of Drawing, which at first was an ordinary society of painters, but thanks to Morse’s artistic and organizational abilities, it was greatly transformed in a few years.
Despite the steady success, Samuel Morse did not stop there and continued to develop. In 1829 he returned to Europe. This time the goal was to study how they work and function European schools arts
He intended to transfer this experience to American reality and further improve his Academy.
Fateful Journey
Three years later, Samuel Morse, in Le Havre, boarded a ship called the Sally, which, under the leadership of Captain Pell, was heading to New York. The journey on this sailing ship became fateful and turning point for Samuel. Among the passengers was the famous doctor Charles Jackson. He was famous for his innovation in medicine - it was he who discovered anesthesia and other modern methods anesthesia. This time he showed the other passengers a kind of scientific trick: he brought a piece of wire to the compass, which was connected to the compass. As a result, the arrow began to rotate.
Signal transmission idea
It should be noted that Samuel Morse's interests were not strictly limited to the world of painting, so when he witnessed this experience, one of his most remarkable ideas was sparked in him, changing the world. He was aware of the experiments carried out by Faraday, as well as Schilling's experiments in which sparks were "extracted" from a magnet. And all this prompted him to create a kind of system for transmitting signals through wires at a distance using various combinations of sparks. The idea, so unexpected for the artist, captured his mind completely and completely.
The ship "Sally" sailed to the American shores for another month. During this time, Samuel Morse drew drawings of the proposed apparatus for transmitting signals. Then for several years he worked on creating this device, but he never achieved the expected result. In addition to the hard work, misfortune befell Samuel - his wife died, leaving him alone with three children. However, Morse did not give up his experiments.
First attempt to assemble a data transmission device
After some time, he received a position as a professor of painting at New York University. It was there that he first showed the public the invented apparatus for transmitting information. The result was impressive - the signal was sent over a distance of more than one and a half thousand feet.
Especially vivid impression The device was produced by an American entrepreneur named Steve Vale. He made a kind of deal with Morse: he allocated two thousand dollars for his experiments, and also found a place suitable for research, and Samuel, in return, agreed to take his son as his assistant. Morse happily agreed to the proposed conditions, and the result was not long in coming. In 1844, they managed to transmit the first message over a distance. His text was simple, but quite clearly reflected what was happening: “Wonderful are your works, O Lord!” This was the first in human history
Morse code
Further research and experimentation by two passionate people led to the creation of the famous Morse code - a coding system using short (dot) and parcels or symbols. However, historians have not come to a consensus on the authorship - many believe that the creator was his partner, the son of the tycoon who donated the money, Alfred Vale.
Be that as it may, the alphabet invented in those days was very different from the one that is used today. It was much more complex, and included messages of not two, but three different lengths - a dot, a dash and an extended dash. The combinations were very complex and inconvenient, and therefore, in subsequent years, other inventors significantly modified the coding system, bringing it closer in content and simplicity to the one that humanity uses now. But paradoxically, original version The alphabet was used for quite a long time - until the mid-twentieth century, although it was preserved for so long only on the railway.
Proving to the world the necessity and applicability of the telegraph was not easy. While the invention did not produce a stable and obvious result, Samuel Morse, whose children were in dire need of a living, did not meet with support either at home or abroad. The scientist-artist was on the verge of poverty, but did not lose hope of achieving his goal. When this happened, he had to prove his authorship, because former investors and partners pounced on his brainchild like crows. Samuel Morse and his alphabet created a real sensation in scientific and public circles
Social and family life
Samuel Morse, whose biography is complete sharp turns, turned out to be a unique person who was able to express himself in two completely different areas amazingly successful. Despite the fact that the telegraph, as a method of transmitting information, was quickly replaced by telephone and radio, the information transmission system as an idea is still relevant today. In the nineteenth century, this invention became sensational, and brought Morse not only fame, but also material well-being - the countries that began to use Morse’s device paid the inventor a significant reward, which was enough to purchase a huge estate in which Samuel’s entire large family was located, and for that to this amazing person Until the end of his life he generously gave gifts to others. He was actively involved in charity work, donating money to schools, various societies for the development of art, museums, and also supported young scientists and artists, remembering how the tycoon Vale once helped him.
Glory to Samuel Morse, how great artist, does not fade to this day. His works are kept in various museums around the world, and are rightfully considered the brightest examples visual arts. And the telegraph device he invented gained permanent place located in the American National Museum.
Morse was married twice and had seven children from both marriages. Before his death, on April 2, 1872, he was surrounded by a huge number of grateful and loving family members.
