A Year: Day to Day Men: 27th of April
Natural Extension into Space
April 27 1791 was the birthdate of Samuel Finley Breese Morse, the American painter and inventor.
In England, Morse perfected his painting techniques under the watchful eye of notable artist Washington Allston; by the end of 1811, he gained admittance to the Royal Academy. At the Academy, he was moved by the art of the Renaissance and paid close attention to the works of Michelangelo and Raphael. After observing and practicing life drawing and absorbing its anatomical demands, the young artist produced his masterpiece, “The Dying Hercules” after first making a sculpture as a study for the painting.
In 1825, Samuel Morse decided to explore a means of rapid long distance communication. While returning by ship from Europe in 1832, he encountered Charles Thomas Jackson, a man from Boston well schooled in electromagnetism. Witnessing various experiments with Jackson’s electromagnet, Morse developed the concept of a single-wire telegraph. In time the Morse code, which he developed became the primary language of telegraphy in the world. It is still the standard for rhythmic transmission of data.
Morse encountered the problem of getting a telegraphic signal to carry over more than a few hundred yards of wire. His breakthrough came from the insights of Professor Leonard Gale, who taught chemistry at New York University. With Gale’s help, Morse introduced extra circuits or relays at frequent intervals and was soon able to send a message through ten miles (16 km) of wire. This was the great breakthrough he had been seeking. Morse and Gale were soon joined by Alfred Vail, an enthusiastic young man with excellent skills, insights, and money.
At the Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown, New York, on January 11, 1838, Morse and Vail made the first public demonstration of the electric telegraph. Although Morse and Alfred Vail had done most of the research and development in the ironworks facilities, they chose a nearby factory house as the demonstration site. The first public transmission, with the message, “A patient waiter is no loser”, was witnessed by a mostly local crowd.
On May 24, 1844, a 38 mile line financed by Congress and stretching between Washington D.C. and Baltimore, was officially opened. Samuel Morse sent the now-famous words, “What hath God wrought” from the Supreme Court chamber in the basement of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., to the B&O’s Mount Clare Station in Baltimore.