The Telegraph in America
Mr. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph system which bears his name, first conceived the idea on board the packet ship “Sully” on which he was a passenger. He sailed from Havre for New York on the first day of October, 1832. He was accompanied by a number of others, the whole company being unusually intelligent and agreeable. There was a long voyage before them, and each amiably undertook to relieve the tedium of the journey by the many pleasant devices indulged in by companionable travellers.
At an early period of the voyage, the conversation around the evening table turned upon the subject of electricity and magnetism which was then a popular topic of discussion and general interest.
One of the passengers (a Doctor Jackson) introduced the subject by reference to lectures to which he had recently attended while in Paris, in which interesting illustrations of the more recent discoveries in electro-magnetism had been given.
He also referred to the experiments of Ampère with the electro magnet; the subject excited very general interest into which Morse entered with great spirit. Hitherto he had felt no other concern in electrical matters than that of a lively and attentive curiosity.
Dr. Jackson had in his trunk an electro-magnet, which he described, and during the conversation alluded to the length of the wire in the coils. This led one of the company to enquire “if the velocity of the current was retarded by the length of the wire?”
Dr. Jackson replied that electricity passed instantaneously over any known length of wire. This aroused the interest of Morse who was struck with the idea that electricity might be made the medium of conveying intelligence.
The conversation went on but he left them. As he paced the deck the idea rapidly took form in his mind that, either by electro-chemical or electro-magnetic effects of a current, marks might be made at distances so great and in such variety as to render possible the easy communication of and record of an intelligible language.