Samuel F.B. Morse

Samuel Morse, born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1791, studied painting in England after graduating from Yale University. He was a noted portraitist and was one of the first Americans to practice photography, having met the art's inventor, Louis Daguerre, in France. His interest in experimenting with electricity arose early during his time at Yale. This interest took an unexpected turn when, returning from a trip to Europe in 1832, Morse discovered that it was possible to use electrical circuits to send messages over long distances using characters encoded by dots and dashes. After years without being able to attract public attention, Morse finally obtained a commission from the United States Congress to set up an experimental telegraph line from Baltimore to Washington in 1844. This demonstration was a resounding success.

Arroyo, Puerto Rico · United States