The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1872-04-12
Obituary.

SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE
Professor Morse, after wonderfully
prolonged resistanceiagaiust death yield
ed to the Destroyer on Tuesday April I'd
at his residence in New York city. Had
he lived until the 9th instant he would
have been 81 years old. He was native
of Massachusetts,, and graduate of Yale
College. In 1911 he accompanied WASH
ington Allison to England to study
painting, under Benjamin West, and in
1913 he received the gold medal of the
| Adelphi Society of Arts, of London, for
an original model of a "Dying Hercu.
les" his first attempt at sculpture. He
was the founder of our present National
Academy of Design, of which he was
| president for the sixteen years its eX-
istence. He was subsequently elected
to the proiessorship of tRe literature of
the arts of Design in the New York
University. Chemistry, however, was
much studied by him, and the subject
Of electro magnetism engaged hisearnest
attention. In 1882 Professor Morse en-
barked at Havre on board the packet
spip Sully, and in q casual conversation
| with some of the passengers on the then
recent discovery in France of the means
OF obtaining the electric spark from the
magnet, showing the identity or relation
| va NiSSsiiSiNJ thN 4lDESG .
mind conceived not merely the idea of
an electric telegraph, but of an electro.
magnetic and chemical recording tele-
graph substantially and essentially as il
now exists.
1t was not, however, until 1885 that
Professor Morse completed the con struc.
tion of the first recording apparatus, and
in that and the two years subsequent
this instrument was shown in perfection
to many persons. With one instrument
he could only send not receive, messages.
In 1887 another instrument was CON
structed, and early in September, hav-
ing his whole plan arranged, he eXhib-
tied to hundreds the operations of his
system at the University of New York.
Professor Morse endeavOred to obtain
appropriations from Congress to assist
him in developing his great discovery /;
but after a vain effort during the session
of 1878, he went abroad, submitting
his invention to the governments OF
France and England, both of which,
however, refused to give him the needed
assistance. He returned homo dispir-
tied, but on the Sd of March, 1913, the
last evening of the session of Congress,
a bill was passed appropriating $50 900
for the building of his eXperimen ia
line from Baltimore to Washington. In
1874, May q, the work was completed,
the first message sent, and the sound
ness of the theory of the Morse system
of telegraphy was proved by its tri-
umphant practice. Almost every nation
of the world has shown its desire to do
honor to the great inventor, by present
ing him with medals aud orders of mer-
it, while an honorarium of 400 900 francs
was presented to him by the combined
nations of Europe as a testimonial OF
the appreciation in which his inventor
was held.
TO receive such rich reward, and to
have the full value of their works 80 APP
preciated, fall TO the lot of few great in
ventors, and it will be cause of grati-
tude for all time to come that such re-
ward and recognition did fall to the lot
of Professor Morse, who undoubtedly is
one Of the greatest inventors that the
the! world has ever produced. Full of
hOnors and years he has passed away,
leaving whole nation, whole world
to mourn his loss.