HISTORY’s Moment in Media: Morse Code -- The Message That Changed the World

Itamp8217s a Bible quote sure Numbers 2323 expressing awe and wonder at Godamp8217s works But itamp8217s also the first message sent by Samuel Morseamp8217s electromagnetic telegraph transmitted from the US Supreme Court chamber then in the US Capitol building in Washington DC to the Mount Clare train station in Baltimore some 40 miles awayMorse sent the message to his assistant Alfred Vail and Vail sent a confirmation message back to Morse on May 24 1844 181 years ago this monthMorse didnamp8217t invent the telegraph and he didnamp8217t come up with the term telegraph But he devised a simple efficient effective system and the dotsanddashes code that conveyed messages across it that made nearinstantaneous communication practical Within two decades telegraph lines had spread across the United States and throughout Europe By 1940 40 transatlantic cables united the two continents Morseamp8217s telegraph along with Morse code transformed the world For the first time news was conveyed instantly Western Union messengers delivered messages from around the world Money could be amp8220wiredamp8221Telegraph is derived from the Greek tele which means distant and graphein which means to write The term was initially used to refer to semaphore indicators flags or other objects that could be displayed or arranged to convey messages across long distances By 1800 there were telegraph networks semaphores that passed messages from hill to hill or tower to tower all based on a lineofsight view Telegraph Hill in San Francisco was so named when a semaphore station was established at its peak relaying a message to local merchants when a ship was seen entering the Golden GateBut a visual telegraph only worked where it could be seen The distance between stations couldnamp8217t be too far and foul weather or nighttime made messaging impossible By the early part of the 19th century discoveries about electricity and magnetism and the development of the first electric batteries led to experiments in using electrical pulses to communicate over distances In 1831 a physicist in Albany developed a method for using a battery to send a signal that rang a bell a mile away In London two scientists devised an electromagnetic telegraph that used needles to spell out letters which they patented in 1837 In 1839 it was installed along Englandamp8217s Great Western Railway allowing messages to be sent between Londonamp8217s Paddington Station and the station in West Drayton 13 miles awayMorse a portrait painter with an early interest in electricity whose wife died in 1825 while he was traveling to paint the Marquis de Lafayette and who by the time he learned the news was unable to make it home before sheamp8217d been buried became intrigued with electromagnetism in 1832 after a conversation with a fellow passenger on a steamship returning to the US from Europe He built on the discoveries of those earlier scientists focusing especially on overcoming the electrical resistance that made it difficult to send a signal over great distances In 1843 he got funding from Congress for his work After hiring the mechanic Ezra Cornell to run his line on a railroad rightofway from Washington to Baltimore heamp8217d go on to become wealthy from telegraphrelated businesses and then found his namesake university in upstate New York he was ready for the fateful testMorseamp8217s system succeeded because it was so simple and portable All it required was a portable batterypowered transmitter to tap out those dashes and dots and a similarly portable receiver on the other end As the easytouse technology expanded around the world Morseamp8217s code evolved too International Morse code developed to accommodate necessary accent marks in European languages is the version we know today to the extent we know it at all SOS dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot is International not American Morse codeBut as much as Morseamp8217s telegraph ushered in the era of electronic communication its heyday was destined to be shortlived The transcontinental telegraph line was completed in 1861 the first coasttocoast message was sent by the chief justice of the California Supreme Court to President Abraham Lincoln In 1869 the transcontinental railroad was completed And in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone What Morse wrought an expectation for instant electronic communication and the infrastructure necessary to deliver that would ultimately lead to worldwide telephony to live television broadcasts beamed around the globe and even to the internet whose fiberoptic backbone spreads around the world and under the oceans just as the telegraph networks didAnd yet still the telegraph hung on Western Union transmitted its final US telegram in believe it or not 2006 For decades the service had continued as a way to mark milestone occasions and ensure keepsake messages By the end more than 160 years after the technology was invented it was mostly used by corporations sending formal notices The final ten messages as Western Union reported were birthday wishes condolences and several people attempting to send the last telegramClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

HISTORY’s Moment in Media: Morse Code -- The Message That Changed the World

Publish date

Channel

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

HISTORY’s Moment in Media: Morse Code -- The Message That Changed the World

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

TAGS:

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

The payment was successful

Cookies