Samuel Morse's wife was buried before he could say goodbye
The delay that kept Samuel Morse from reaching his dying wife in 1825 drove him to invent the telegraph and change how the world communicates.
Samuel Morse reached home to find his wife already buried. In 1825, the failed painter was working on portraits in Washington when a messenger found him. His wife Lucretia was gravely ill in New Haven.
Morse rushed back, but news traveled by horse. That delay stayed with him.
From sketch to invention
Sailing from France in 1832, he sketched an electric telegraph. For years, Morse begged for money and fought over credit. He helped create Morse code. Congress finally paid for a line to Baltimore.
The first message
On May 24th, 1844, Morse tapped out, What hath God wrought?
A world transformed
Morse watched telegraph wires cross continents and died famous in 1872 after seeing messages outrun people. Speed had finally beaten the delay that cost him goodbye.
