Morse, Samuel F.B.

Morse, Samuel F.B. (1791–1872), artist and inventor.Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and educated at Yale University, Samuel F.B. Morse began his career as an artist, studying painting at London's Royal Academy (1811–1815), but is best known for his work in telegraphy. After settling in New York City in 1823, Morse helped to found the National Academy of Design, serving as its first president. In 1832, the same year he became professor of painting and sculpture at the University of the City of New York, he drafted his first ideas for an electric telegraph. He worked alone on his system for several years before congressional interest in establishing a semaphore telegraphy system led him to propose his electrical system as a superior alternative. Morse then acquired the assistance of a former student, Alfred Vail (1807–1859), whose father, Stephen, supported their work at his Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey. Alfred Vail, who converted Morse's crude instrument designs into commercially practical devices, deserves credit as a coinventor of the American telegraph. He may also have revised the telegraph code, named for Morse, into its common form. With additional help from chemist Leonard Gale and physicist Joseph Henry—and thirty thousand dollars from Congress—Morse and Vail built the first telegraph line, between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. After its completion in 1844, Congress refused to purchase Morse's patents or pay for additional lines. Morse and his associates, who included former Postmaster General Amos Kendall, subsequently sold the patent rights to private companies. Morse played only a small role in the subsequent development of the telegraph business, although he continued to defend his patents against legal challenge.

Bibliography

Carleton Mabee , The American Leonardo: A Life of Samuel F.B. Morse, 1943.
Paul J. Staiti , Samuel F.B. Morse, 1989.

Paul Israel