Samuel Finley Breese Morse

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese (1791–1872), U.S. inventor of an electric telegraph and portrait painter. Morse spent 12 years developing the range and capabilities of his system; he was granted a U.S. patent for his telegraph in 1840. His famous message—“What hath God wrought!”—was the first sent on his Washington-Baltimore line on May 24, 1844. For this he used Morse code, which he devised in 1838.

See also: Telegraph.