Samuel Morse

Samuel F.B. Morse formally opens the first telegraph line between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC in 1844. “What hath God wrought” was the first official message sent from the Capitol Building to Baltimore. Prior to inventing the telegraph, Morse was an accomplished portrait painter and artist. However, he was motivated to improve long distance communications after his wife’s death. Sadly, by the time he got the news of her illness and returned to their home, she had already died and been buried.