At all times, there are gifted people who are capable of developing and implementing extraordinary ideas, creating something unusual and necessary for humanity. As a rule, pronounced talent leads its owner along its own special life path, not deviating a single step from the intended path ... But there are examples of unique people in history who have mastered equally successfully completely different spheres, creating something fundamentally new and perfect in each of them. One of such prominent representatives of humanity was Samuel Morse. Who is this morse? What is he known for?
The formation of the artist's creative worldview
Samuel Morse, whose birth date is April 27, 1791, was born in a small American town called Charles Town, located in Massachusetts. Samuel's father was a preacher and from early childhood he tried to arouse in his son a desire to learn.
As a result of parental efforts, the young man grew inquisitive and talented. He successfully entered the university in Yale in 1805, during the training in which his creative worldview of a constantly seeking person was formed.
Study painting
Of particular awe and interest in Morse was painting. He carefully studied it in his student years, and, after graduating from university, 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 Royal Royal Academy of Arts. The work was highly appreciated by art lovers, and Morse even awarded a gold medal for it. In 1815, the young artist returned to America.
Artist success
At home, he was waiting for no less success - for several years Samuel Morse (photo) became the idol of beginning artists of that time. Many talented works belonging to his brush adorned 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 presidents of the United States, 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 Morse's artistic and organizational abilities, he changed dramatically over the course of several 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 how European art schools are structured and functioning.
He was going to transfer this experience to American reality and to further improve his Academy.
Fateful journey
Three years later, Samuel Morse in Le Havre boarded a ship called "Sally", which, under the leadership of Captain Pell, was heading to New York. Traveling on this sailboat became fateful and turning for Samuel. Among the passengers was the famous doctor Charles Jackson. He was famous for his innovativeness in medicine - it was he who discovered anesthesia and other modern methods of anesthesia. This time, he showed the other passengers a kind of scientific focus: he brought to the compass a piece of wire that was connected to a galvanic cell. As a result, the arrow began to spin.
Signal Transmission Idea
It should be noted that the interests of Samuel Morse were not limited strictly to the world of painting, so when he witnessed this experience, one of his most remarkable ideas, which changed the world, caught fire in him. He was aware of the experiments conducted by Faraday, as well as the experiments of Schilling, when sparks were extracted from the 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 coast for another month. During this time, Samuel Morse drew drawings of the proposed apparatus for transmitting signals. Then for several years he worked on the creation of this device, but he did not succeed in achieving 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.
The first attempt to assemble a device for data transmission
After some time, he became a professor of painting at the University of New York. It was there that he first showed the public an invented apparatus for transmitting information. The result was impressive - the signal was delivered at a distance of more than one and a half thousand feet.
The device was especially striking in an American entrepreneur named Steve Vale. 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 response, agrees to take his son as an 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 from a distance. His text was straightforward, but it clearly reflected what was happening: "Your deeds are wonderful, Lord!" It was the first telegraph apparatus in the history of mankind .
Morse code
Further research and experiments of two enthusiastic people led to the creation of the famous Morse code - a coding system using short (dot) and long (dash) premises or symbols. However, historians did not agree on authorship - many believe that the creator of the Morse code was his partner, the son of the tycoon who donated money, Alfred Vale.
Whatever it was, the alphabet invented in those days was very different from the one that is currently used. It was much more complicated, and included not two, but three different lengths â 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 is using now. But paradoxically, the initial version of the alphabet was used for a rather long time - up to the middle of the twentieth century, however, it only lasted for so long on the railroad.
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 find support either at home or abroad. The artist-scientist 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 attacked his brainchild, like crows. 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 surprisingly successfully. Despite the fact that the telegraph, as a way of transmitting information, was rather quickly supplanted by telephone and radio, the information transfer 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 prosperity - the countries that started using the Morse device paid the inventor a significant reward, which was enough to acquire a huge estate, in which the whole large family of Samuel was located, and so that this amazing person generously endowed others with the rest of his life. He was actively involved in charity work, allocated money for schools, for various art development societies, museums, and also supported young scientists and artists, remembering how tycoon Vale himself once helped him.
The glory of Samuel Morse, as a magnificent artist, does not fade to this day. His works are stored in various museums around the world, and are rightfully considered the brightest examples of fine art. And the telegraph device invented by him found a permanent location in the American National Museum.
Morse was twice married, all of both marriages, he had seven children. Before his death, April 2, 1872, he was surrounded by a huge number of grateful and loving family members.