Samuel Finley Breese Morse

Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born on April the twenty-seventh in the year of 1791. He was born in Charleston, Massachusetts. His father was a minister and an author.

Samuel Morse from early childhood was talented in the subject of art and he desperately wanted to be an artist. He studied art at Yale College. He also took classes in the subjects of mathematics, chemistry, and physics. He found the electricity and chemistry experiments amusing, instructive, and mysterious.

After his years of college he went to England to study his passion for art. He worked very had in London. He was always in a happy mood and bought too many items especially clothing. He applied for the Royal Academy of Arts. He could not be accepted until he showed the academy some of his works of art. He did a statue in black and white chalk. He did his best but every time he gave the academy his sketch he was told to finish it.

He was finally accepted. He did very well at art. He made a figure of Hercules of Greek mythology that was out of clay. He won a gold medal for that piece of work. He then started to work on portraits. He was still working on art portraits when he came back to the United States.

He went through lean years before he was very well known. The portrait of Marquis de Lafayette he made in 1825 was put into the New York City Hall. The New York Public Library has another painting of Marquis de Lafayette. He also wanted to do vast historic pictures. He went back to Europe for three years so he could prepare for putting a huge painting in the rotunda of the majestic Capitol.

He later became very interested in the electric telegraph in the year of 1832. He was on a ship called the Sully on his way back to the United States. He learned at a dinner conversation at sea that men found a way they could send electricity instantly over any length of wire. The rest of the time he was at sea he made many notes and drawings of what he saw.

Morse lived with his brothers while he was working on the telegraph. He was working on his invention. After five years had gone by he showed to some men the telegraph in the year of 1837. He was hoping they would invest in it so he could finish it. They found it amazing but they would not invest in the telegraph.

Morse did find a wealthy partner named Alfred Vail. He took it to Congress but they refused. He also took it to the European countries of England and France but he could not find any support. Morse made another attempt to Congress. After he had given up hope, Congress passed a bill for thirty thousand dollars to test the telegraph.

He had a telegraph line from the Supreme Court room in the Capitol to Baltimore, Maryland. On May twenty-four of the year 1844, Morse tapped out on the telegraph a famous message "What hath God wrought." Morse and his telegraph were known for only about twelve years in North America and Europe.

Morse died in 1872.

Ben Dobson
USA