Morse Code Was Conceived Out of Grief

Delayed communication robbed Samuel Morse of the chance to say goodbye to his dying wife

Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash

You may have heard the amazing story of Jeremiah Denton, the POW who blinked the word “torture” using morse code while giving a television interview so that his Viet Cong captors wouldn’t catch on to his pleas for help. In 2010, it was embedded into a song that was played to hostages of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to let them know that help was on the way.

This form of communication has been used time and time again during wartime and other dire situations to convey messages and appeal for assistance. How did this lifesaving code of dots and dashes come to be?

Samuel Morse

In February 1825, Samuel Morse, a painter and inventor, traveled to Washington D.C. to pursue an opportunity at becoming a known artist. He had been commissioned by the city of New York to paint a portrait of Marquis de Lafayette and was to be paid $1000. Lafayette was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in both the American and French Revolutionary Wars and was considered a hero in both countries. This was quite the honor for Samuel Morse.

Samuel’s wife Lucretia, who was expecting their third child remained at the Morse’s…