Samuel F. B. Morse: The Original "Texter"

American history is filled with "ordinary" men and women who did extraordinary things. Central to early America’s uniqueness was the freedom to explore and create largely unencumbered. This environment promoted entrepreneurial spirit in all areas of life: communications, travel, medicine, etc. As a result, our early inventors laid the foundation for many of the modern conveniences we use every day.

Samuel F. B. Morse, a man of great faith, was one of these figures. He is best remembered for his work with the invention of the telegraph. His first message on his small machine was sent from Washington, DC to Baltimore, MD. It simply said (from The Bible, Numbers 23:23), "What hath God wrought!" Indeed. Morse could hardly have imagined the instantaneous global communications we use today.

I recently had the opportunity to tour his former home, Locust Grove, in NY's Hudson River Valley. Morse had lived there from 1847-1872, so throughout the Civil War years. In addition to being an entrepreneur and inventor, Morse was also an accomplished artist. Several of his paintings are on display, along with his telegraph machine, in a small museum there on the grounds.

Do you need an interesting subject for a school project? If so, Morse would be a great fit! Be sure to check out his Morse Code "alphabet." Discover how the Morse Code’s “dots and dashes” have been used in the past. Did you know that they have been used for secret communications during America's wars? Also try out a Morse Code “translator.” See how today’s text messages would look if they were sent via the telegraph.

For more info, check out the following links:

1. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Mo-Ni/Morse-Samuel-F-B.html

2. http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/telegraph.htm

3. http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/telegraph (has interesting videos from the Library of Congress)

4. http://www.loc.gov/collection/samuel-morse-papers/about-this-collection/

5. http://morse-code.org/

6. http://morsecode.scphillips.com/jtranslator.html

For educational activities:

1. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=morse+code+worksheets+for+kids&qpvt=morse+code+worksheets+for+kids&FORM=IGRE

2. http://www.education.com/activity/article/Morse_Code/