Samuel Morse

Samuel Morse “To Any of My Friends in Science or Arts in Europe”, New York (NY), March 20, 1847.

Morse provides a letter of introduction for Mr. Robert Dodge, a former pupil at NYU making a tour of Europe for pleasure and the "acquirement of general information." Morse recommends Dodge's character and will consider it a personal favor if facilities are furnished for him. An artist and an inventor as well as a professor at NYU from 1832 onward, Morse founded the National Academy of Design and served as its president.

Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872): The Telegraph

Samuel Morse was an American painter who is better known as the inventor of the electro-magnetic telegraph and Morse Code. In his early life, Morse established himself as a portrait painter. Some of his more noteworthy portraits included the Marquis de Lafayette and John Adams. After learning about the electromagnet that had been developed by 1800, he conceived the idea of an electric telegraph. In 1832, he contributed to the invention of the single-wire telegraph system based on European models. He was co-developer of the Morse Code in 1838, which helped facilitate the telegraph’s commercial applications. After a long struggle with Congress to obtain financial support, the first telegraph was built from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. in 1844. The first message that Morse sent was “what God hath wrought.” In his later years, Morse distinguished himself as a great philanthropist. He founded Vassar College and also helped establish the National Academy of Design in New York City.