Samuel Morse
An American painter and inventor who contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph system and co-developed the Morse code.
Most quoted
"The mere transmission of intelligence is the smallest part of the work of the telegraph. Its great mission is to serve as a bond of peace and friendship between the nations of the earth."
— from Speech, 1868
"This mode of instantaneous communication must inevitably become an instrument of immense power, to be wielded for good or for evil, as it shall be properly or improperly directed."
— from Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, 1838
"This mode of communication will enable the people of the United States to communicate with each other, and with the government, with a rapidity and certainty hitherto unknown."
— from Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, 1838
All quotes by Samuel Morse (396)
I am very much enjoying my retirement.
I am very much pleased with the progress of science.
This is the first public demonstration of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.
The great object of the invention is to communicate intelligence at a distance.
The telegraph will be a great engine of social improvement.
I have been led to the invention by a long series of experiments.
The idea of an electric telegraph first occurred to me in 1832.
My thoughts were continually occupied with the subject.
I saw that if the electric current could be interrupted, it could be made to communicate intelligence.
The dots and dashes are the alphabet of the telegraph.
The telegraph is destined to bind the nations of the earth together.
I have no doubt that the telegraph will be universally adopted.
The government should take an interest in this invention.
I have devoted my life to this great enterprise.
The difficulties have been great, but my faith has never faltered.
To God alone be all the glory.
The telegraph is a triumph of mind over matter.
It is a means of conveying thought, as it were, instantaneously.
The telegraph will be a powerful instrument in the hands of commerce.
The telegraph is not merely a scientific toy, but a practical utility.
Contemporaries of Samuel Morse
Other Inventions born within 50 years of Samuel Morse (1791–1872).