Skip to main content

Today In History: Samuel Morse demonstrates the telegraph with the message, “What hath God wrought?”


 From History.com

In a demonstration witnessed by members of Congress, American inventor Samuel F.B. Morse dispatches a telegraph message from the U.S. Capitol to Alfred Vail at a railroad station in Baltimore, Maryland. The message—“What Hath God Wrought?”—was telegraphed back to the Capitol a moment later by Vail. The question, taken from the Bible (Numbers 23:23), had been suggested to Morse by Annie Ellworth, the daughter of the commissioner of patents.

m 
Morse, an accomplished painter, learned of a French inventor’s idea of an electric telegraph in 1832 and then spent the next 12 years attempting to perfect a working telegraph instrument. During this period, he composed the Morse code, a set of signals that could represent language in telegraph messages, and convinced Congress to finance a Washington-to-Baltimore telegraph line. On May 24, 1844, he inaugurated the world’s first commercial telegraph line with a message that was fitting given the invention’s future effects on American life.

 Just a decade after the first line opened, more than 20,000 miles of telegraph cable crisscrossed the country. The rapid communication it enabled greatly aided American expansion, making railroad travel safer as it provided a boost to business conducted across the great distances of a growing United States.


Check Out:






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Toys By Roy - Winrock Center Mall, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1961-88)

If you grew up in the desert metropolis of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the 60s, 70s or 80s you probably have fond memories of Toys By Roy. This Article Has Moved To Our New Blog At: Toys By Roy - Winrock Center Mall - Albuquerque, New Mexico - A Trip Down Memory Lane
14 comments
READ MORE »

Abandoned Louisiana - The Pirate's Cove Water Park / Resort in Iowa

 About ten minutes east of the city of Lake Charles are the remains of an abandoned water park . The decaying structures are clearly visible from the busy I-10 freeway and for years drivers have wondered about it's history and why it was left for dead.   The Pirate's Cove Water Park actually has a rather interesting story behind it. A story that has been repeated over and over again, unfortunately, here in Louisiana. It's just another example of how government bureaucracy in this state killed an enterprise before it could ever get off the ground. Construction on the park began in 2008 and it was scheduled to open sometime in 2010. The sprawling complex was envisioned as an oasis from the hot summer heat that would feature luxurious amenities like a 900 foot long lazy river, a giant splash pad for the kids and eventually a five star hotel. The Pirate's Cove would have been an obvious tourist destination that could have brought much needed tax dollars and employment oppo...
Post a Comment
READ MORE »

Abandoned Louisiana - The Old Hightower Family Home in Dodson

I have to admit that I have been hanging on to these photos for a couple of months now just looking for the right minute to post them. Back in November I was traveling up to El Dorado, Arkansas and I passed through the small town of Dodson. While driving through town my eyes spotted a very attractive old house up on a hill and I just had to stop and take a few photos of it. I honestly don't know the history of this house, but I'm sure some local will send me message telling me all about it (and someone did see the UPDATE ), and it's not as cool as an abandoned railroad locomotive or old movie house but it really spoke to me. I have to wonder about the people who used to live in it and how it ended up in the state it is now. Anyone can see that it was a beautiful house long ago. What happened? How did such a grand residence end up like this? Those are questions that I can't answer unfortunately.  Unfortunately a site like this isn't all that uncommon here in Louisian...
Post a Comment
READ MORE »