At all times there are gifted people who are able to develop and implement extraordinary ideas, to create something extraordinary and necessary for mankind. As a rule, a pronounced talent leads its owner along its own special life path, without deviating a single step from the intended path … And there are examples of unique people in history who have mastered completely different spheres equally successfully, creating in each of them something fundamentally new and perfect. One of these outstanding representatives of mankind was Samuel Morse. Who is this Morse? What is he known for?
Formation of the artist's creative outlook
Samuel Morse, whose date of birth falls on April 27, 1791, was born in a small American town called Charlestown, located in Massachusetts. Samuel's father was a preacher and from early childhood tried to awaken in his son a desire to learn.
As a result of parental efforts, the young man grew up inquisitive and talented. He successfully entered the university at Yale in 1805, duringeducation in which his creative worldview of a constantly searching person was formed.
Studying painting
Morse's painting evoked particular awe and interest. He diligently studied it in his student years, and after graduating from the university, he went to England to learn painting from the legendary Washington Alston. According to contemporaries, the young man demonstrated remarkable abilities in the visual arts. Already in 1813, he painted a famous painting called "The Dying Hercules", which found refuge in the London Royal Academy of Arts. The work was highly appreciated by art lovers, and Morse was even awarded a gold medal for it. In 1815, the young artist returned to America.
Artist success
At home, no less success awaited him - in a few years, Samuel Morse (photo) became the idol of emerging artists of that time. Many talented works that belonged to his brush, decorated the walls of museums and were highly appreciated even by the most demanding audience. He also painted a world-famous portrait of one of the US presidents, James Monroe.
Later he became the founder of the famous National Academy of Drawing, which at first was an ordinary society of painters, but thanks to the artistic and organizational skills of Morse, it changed a lot in a few years.
Despite the steady success, Samuel Morse did not stop there and continued to develop. In 1829 he returned to Europe. This time the goal was to study howand European art schools function.
He was going to transfer this experience to American reality and further improve his Academy.
A Fateful Journey
Three years later, Samuel Morse boarded a ship called the Sally in Le Havre, which, under the direction of Captain Pell, was heading to New York. The journey on this sailboat was for Samuel a fateful and turning point. Among the passengers was the famous physician Charles Jackson. He was famous for his innovation in medicine - it was he who discovered anesthesia and other modern methods of anesthesia. This time he showed the rest of the passengers a kind of scientific trick: he brought a piece of wire to the compass, which was attached to a galvanic cell. As a result, the arrow began to rotate.
The idea of signaling
It should be noted that Samuel Morse's interests were not strictly limited to the world of painting, so when he witnessed this experience, one of his most wonderful ideas ignited in him, changing the world. He was aware of the experiments conducted by Faraday, as well as Schilling's experiments, when sparks were extracted from a magnet. And all this prompted him to create a kind of system for transmitting signals over wires at a distance using various combinations of sparks. The idea, so unexpected for the artist, captured his mind completely.
The ship "Sally" sailed to the American shores for another month. During this time, Samuel Morse drew blueprints for the proposed signaling apparatus. Then for several years he worked onthe creation of this device, but it was not possible to achieve the expected result. In addition to hard work, misfortune fell on Samuel - his wife died, leaving him alone with three children. However, Morse did not give up his experiments.
First attempt to assemble a device for data transmission
After some time, he received a position as a professor of painting at the University of New York. It was there that he first showed the public the invented apparatus for transmitting information. The result was impressive - the signal was given over a distance of more than one and a half thousand feet.
The device made a particularly vivid impression on an American entrepreneur named Steve Vail. He made a kind of deal with Morse: he allocates two thousand dollars for his experiments, and also finds a place suitable for research, and Samuel in return undertakes to take his son as his assistant. Morse happily agreed to the proposed conditions, and the result was not long in coming. In 1844, they managed to transmit the first message at a distance. His text was uncomplicated, but quite clearly reflected what was happening: “Wonderful are your works, Lord!”. It was the first telegraph machine in the history of mankind.
Morse code
Further research and experiments by two enthusiastic people led to the creation of the famous Morse code - a system of encoding using short (dot) and long (dash) parcels or characters. However, historians have not come to a consensus about authorship - many believe that the creator of Morse code was histhe partner is the son of donating magnate Alfred Vail.
Be that as it may, the alphabet invented at that time was very different from the one that is currently used. It was much more complicated, and included not two, but three different lengths of messages - a dot, a dash and an elongated dash. The combinations were very complex and inconvenient, in connection with which, in subsequent years, other inventors significantly modified the coding system, bringing it closer in content and simplicity to the one that humanity uses now. But paradoxically, the original version of the alphabet was used for quite a long time - until the middle of the twentieth century, however, it only survived for so long on the railway.
It was not easy to prove to the world the necessity and applicability of the telegraph. While the invention did not give a stable and obvious result, Samuel Morse, whose children were in dire need of funds for a living, did not meet with support either at home or abroad. The scientist-artist was on the verge of poverty, but did not lose hope of achieving his goal. When this happened, he had to prove his authorship, because former investors and partners pounced on his offspring, like ravens. Samuel Morse and his alphabet made a splash in scientific and public circles
Social and family life
Samuel Morse, whose biography is full of sharp turns, turned out to be a unique person who was able to prove himself in two completely different areas with amazing success. Despite the fact that the telegraph, as a means of transmissioninformation, was quickly supplanted by the telephone and radio, the information transmission system, as an idea, is relevant to the present. In the nineteenth century, this invention became sensational, and brought Morse not only fame, but also material well-being - the countries that began to use the Morse device paid the inventor a significant reward, which was enough to purchase a huge estate in which Samuel's entire large family was located, and for that so that this amazing person generously endows others until the end of his life. He was actively involved in charity work, allocated money for schools, for various societies for the development of art, museums, and also supported young scientists and artists, remembering how the tycoon Vail once helped him.
The glory of Samuel Morse, as a great artist, does not fade to this day. His works are kept in various museums around the world, and are rightfully considered the brightest examples of fine art. And the telegraph device he invented has found a permanent location in the American National Museum.
Morse was married twice, in total from both marriages he had seven children. Before his death, on April 2, 1872, he was surrounded by a huge number of grateful and loving family members.
