Morse Telegraph Message
MakerMessage sent by
Samuel Finley Breese Morse
American, 1791 - 1872
Date1844
MediumPaper and ink
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (approximate height x width): 28 1/2 x 1 1/2in. (72.4 x 3.8cm)
Mount (height x width): 5 1/8 x 30in. (13 x 76.2cm)
Mount (height x width): 5 1/8 x 30in. (13 x 76.2cm)
ClassificationsEquipment
Credit LineGift of Thomas H. Seymour
DescriptionTelegraph message with vaguely discernable Morse code dots and dashs. Handwritten in ink along the top: "At 8:45 A.M. Friday May 24, 1844 this sentence was transmitted from [from is crossed out] Baltimore/ by Elec. Mag. Telegraph/ and/ from Washington to Baltimore/, being the first sentence sent and indited by Miss Annie G. Ellsworth... Sam F. B. Morse, Superintendent of Electo Magnetic Telegraphs..." Handwritten in ink along the bottom in same hand: "What hath God wrought?"
Object number1844.41.1
InscribedHandwritten in ink along the top: "At 8:45 A.M. Friday May 24, 1844 this sentence was transmitted/ by Elec. Mag. Telegraph/ and/ from Washington to Baltimore, being the first sentence sent and indited by Miss Annie G. Ellsworth... Sam F. B. Morse, Superintendent of Electo Magnetic Telegraphs..." Handwritten in ink along the bottom in same hand: "What Hath God Wrought?"NotesThe first ever long distance telegraph message was sent by Samuel F. B. Morse from Washington, D.C. and received by Alfred Vail in Baltimore, Maryland on 24 May 1844. The phrase "What hath God wrought?" was selected by Annie Ellsworth, the daughter of Morse's friend and Commissioner of Patents Henry L. Ellsworth.
It is unclear whether 1844.41.1 is the initial message sent from Morse in Washington, D. C. to Vail in Baltimore, or whether it is the message sent from Vail in Baltimore and received by Morse in Washington, D.C as an immediate response to the initial message.
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