Samuel Morse

1791 – 1872

Samuel Finley Breese Morse was an American inventor and painter who, in middle age, co-developed the single-wire electric telegraph and the eponymous Morse code that allowed letters to be transmitted as patterns of dots and dashes. His 1844 demonstration message—"What hath God wrought"—sent over a 38-mile line from Washington to Baltimore inaugurated the era of long-distance instant communication. Before turning to invention he had been an accomplished portrait painter and a founding president of the National Academy of Design.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM