Samuel Morse transmitted the message "What hath God wrought" from the old Suprem

Featured Event 1844 Event

Morse Sends 'What Hath God Wrought': The Telegraph Era Begins

Samuel Morse transmitted the message "What hath God wrought" from the old Supreme Court chamber in the US Capitol to his assistant Alfred Vail at the Mount Clare depot of the B&O Railroad in Baltimore on May 24, 1844. The phrase, chosen by Annie Ellsworth (daughter of the Patent Commissioner), came from the Book of Numbers. The demonstration used 38 miles of copper wire strung on wooden poles. Congress had appropriated $30,000 for the experimental line. Within six years, 12,000 miles of telegraph wire crisscrossed the United States. The telegraph transformed journalism by enabling same-day reporting of distant events, created commodity futures markets by allowing instant price information, and revolutionized military communications. Associated Press was founded in 1846 specifically to share telegraph costs among newspapers.

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May 24, 1844

182 years ago

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