The Hickman courier., 1872-04-13
Dea.n of Prof. =. r.. NsOrse-A
nFtea Sketch of HEiS Life.

q
aef Sketch of HEiS Lite.
Inc great and good old man who in
Vepted the magnetic telegraph, Prof.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse, died at his
residence In New York, last week. No
othef Inventer ever lived to see so won.
dertul development of his work. Born
on the 9th of April, 1891, he would
have attained, if his life had been spared
until the 9th inst, se age of eighty
one years. The following sketch of his
life will be read with interest:
"he graduated at Yale in 1910. His
tastes led him to the fine arts, aud his
father was finally induced to second his
aspirations to be an artist. The year after
graduating he went to London to study
painting under Benjamin West. While
there he became quite intimate with c..
b Leslie. They agreed to paint each
others portrait as a first attempt in Lon
don. Mr.. Morse made some progress in
hisars, exhibiting in 1919 at the Royal
academy his Dying Hercules" This
piaue merited high praise. a plaster
iof.IH hich he had constructed to aid
him "a painting was also shown, aud won
the Adolphi gold medal. Shortly after
lie returned to America. He came unto
his own of Boston and Boston knew him
not. He therefore betook himself to
New Hampshire, where lie eked out 4
living by painting portraits at fifteen dol
lars head. In Charleston, S. c., he
reaped more bountiful harvest, but in
1922 be took up his residence in New
York The corporation authorized him
to paint the portrait OF Lafayette when
the general was on a visit to this country
In this city, in 1924. he, with some other
artists, organized a drawing association.
which was the basis on which the Ma
tional Academy Of Design was erected
in 1926 Mr. Morse was the first presi.
dent holding the oRce for sixteen years.
Ia 1929 he returned to Europe, aud re
mained there for three years His return
to America in 1892 must be forever mem
onble for in that year, while returning
from IIavre in the packet-ship Suily, he
fnt laid the foundation of his great in
vention. While in college his attention
had been carefully directed to chemistry
and other branches Of natural philosophy.
Or board the Sally discussion of recent
discoveries in electric magnetism took
plice, and in the course Of it an observa-
tion was made which planted in the mind
of Morse the seeds of his great invention
Before he left the ship he had mapped
oat the rough plan of a telegraph sys-
ten, including even a writing telegraph.
His original idea was to pass 4 strip OF
p'per, saturated with chemical prepa-
ration, which would be decomposed when
bought in connection with the wire along
which the electric current was passing.
aud thus form an alphabet by marks
varying in width and number. With
this idea in his brain he steadily followed
his profession after his return to New
York, devoting his leisure to his scieu-
ti6c project. IN 1890 he completed his
first apparatus, an extremely rude one,
as may be supposed, sufficient TO enable
him to communicate with person half
thil,. dists.nt. but moi capable OF reeeiv-
ing an answer back from the opposite
extremity. In 1896 this instrument was
shown in successful operation. This was
J
we'll known Morse instrument, in which
the paper was indented by a needle
Legislators. it is unnecessary to say, do
not look with much favor on inventors,
and Morse found his proposition for aid
submitted in 1887 s to Congress. received
very cooly. He then went to England
and was there refused patent In France
he obtained a bTcret Il nUeahon. On
his return to America he was iudefatiga-
bic in trying to persuade Congress to en-
able him to practically test his invention.
At last, when all hope was abandoned, it
allotted him thirty thousand dollars on
March +. 1913, .'at the midnight hour of
the expiring session" In 1914 he had
the line between Washington
and Baltimore, and sent over its wires
the first message, What had God
wrought Within sixteen years nearly
10000 miles Of wire were In full work
ing order Curiously enough, in 1887
two other inventors had discovered a sys-
tenn of telegraphy heatstone, in Eng
land. inventing the DETECTING needle in
strument, and Steurbel, in Bavaria, con
structing recording telegraph, which,
however, was of toNcompIex character
to come into geDerar use. Honors poured
in on Morse. Yale honored her academic
roll by enrolling him among her doctors
of law. The Sultan of Turkey sent him
a diamond decoration. The King of
Prussia gave him gold medal of merit,
set in massive snuff box The rulers
of Wurtemberg and Austria were not
behindhaud. BY France he was made
chevalier of the Legion of Honor, and
by Denmark Knight of the Dannebrog
In 1888 Isabella the Catholic sent him
the cross Of the knights commander Of
the order which bears her name. In 1857
the representatives. of ten countries which
had been benefited by his labors assem-
bled in Paris and voted him a grant Of
100000 francs In London and Paris
grand dinners were given to him. The
first submarine cables were laid by Morse
across New York harbor in 1912, an
achievement which was rewarded by the
A american institute with its gold medal.
La 1S43 Mr.. Morse first broached the
project Of the Atlantic telegraph. His
claim to his share in the invention of the
has been bitterly contested in
md out of the public courts. His merit
appears to rest not on the discovery Of
he principles of the telegraph, but on
he adaptation of already ascertained
principles to the work he undertook to
perform The latest events in the public
ife of Mr.. Morse yfre his recent ap
at the Inauguration of Frank
ms statue in Printing House square, and
ome time previously his presence at the
lnveiling OF his own statue in Central
,ark, and the grand demonstration which
ook place in the evening at the Acade