Morse, Samuel Finley Breese

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

Samuel Finley Breese (1791-1872), an American inventor. He was a native of Charleston, Massachusetts. He was graduated at Yale in 1810. It was his ambition to become a painter. He studied with Washington Allston in England. On his return, he became a professor in the University of the City of New York . He became much interested in electricity and in the possibilities of telegraphy. In 1835 he exhibited a recording instrument. In 1837 he filed an application for a patent. In the following years he requested Congress to make him a special grant for the construction of an experimental line from Washington to Baltimore. In the meantime he visited England and was refused a patent for his harebrained scheme. He struggled with a committee of Congress for four years and gave up in discouragement. In the closing minutes of the session of March 4, 1843, however, Congress placed $30,000 at his disposal. In 1844 he completed the construction of his line. The first message over the wire was sent from the United States Supreme Court room in the Capitol at Washington to Baltimore, May 24, 1844. It was, "What God hath wrought." During his experimenting Morse laid a submarine cable, the first, it is believed, in the world, in New York Harbor. The success of Morse's invention created the greatest excitement. Lines were constructed everywhere. As he had no patents to protect him in Europe, the various governments made him a present of $50,000. The sultan of Turkey sent him a decoration of diamonds. Gold medals were sent him by the sovereigns of Prussia and Austria. The king of Denmark sent him a knight's cross. Yale College made him a Doctor of Laws. He derived no wealth from his patents. The money received as presents and otherwise was spent in useless lawsuits in defense of his rights. A bronze statue in Central Park , New York, was erected by subscriptions from telegraph operators. See Telegraph; Cooper Mortality Statistics. The United States Bureau of the Census publishes valuable mortality statistics. The large cities of the union and some of the states, as a whole, keep a register of deaths and causes. The states and cities making such a registry are known as the registration area. These statistics cover this so-called registration area from which returns are available. Death rate is to be interpreted as meaning so many deaths out of 100,000 people. The following statistics are for the year 1907: Population of registered area 41,758,037 General death rate 1,645.3 Deaths from all causes 687,034 Deaths from: Typhoid fever 12,670 Malarial fever 1,166 Smallpox 74 Measles 4,302 Scarlet fever 4,309 Whooping cough 4,856 Diphtheria 8,575 Croup 1,579 Influenza 10,066 Cholera nostras 401 Dysentery 2,779 Erysipelas 1,856 Other epidemic diseases 246 Septicemia 1,869 Tuberculosis 76,860 Scrofula 109 Cancer 30,514 Rheumatism 3,439 Diabetes 5,801 Alcoholism 3,130 Diseases of the nervous system 73,298 Heart disease, etc 78,365 Pneumonia, bronchitis, etc 89,246 Diarrhoea, etc 84,800 Bright's disease, etc 51,472 Diseases of the skin 2,759 Diseases of the bone, etc 1,252 Malformations 6,452 Diseases of early infancy 30,637 Old age 13,660 Violence, accidents, etc 52,548 III defined causes 14,475 Morte d'Arthur, mort dar'ther, or Morte Arthure, an English prose romance of the fifteenth century. It was the work of Sir Thomas Malory, and consists of translations from the French romances of the life and death of the British King Arthur. Little is known of Malory. He is believed to have been a Welshman and to have lived from 1430 to 1470. Caxton, who printed Malory's book, says of him that he was "a servant of Jesus both by day and night," which has led to the supposition that he was a priest. The title "Sir" is an added argument in favor of this view, as priests were accorded the title frequently at that period. Malory's book was called originally the History of Arthur. It was printed by Caxton in 1485, only eleven years after the printing of the first English book. The popularity of the Arthurian legends may be judged by the fact that this was eight years before any part of the English Bible was printed. Morte d' Arthur was one of the chief sources used by Tennyson for his Idylls of the King , The Defense of Guinevere by William Morris, The Death of Tristram by Matthew Arnold, Tristram of Lyonesse by Algernon Charles Swinburne, The Vision of Sir Launfal by Lowell,--all show that their authors were influenced by Malory. Morte d' Arthur is still one of the most important books for the student of British legends. Of course, as printed in the original, it is rather difficult reading. Later editions present the text in readable form, while still preserving Malory's quaint style. The extract is from the account of Sir Lancelot's death: "Ah, Sir Lancelot, there thou liest; thou wert never matched of none earthly knight's hands. And thou wert the courtliest knight that ever bare shield; and thou wert the truest friend to thy lover that ever bestrode horse; and thou wert the truest lover, of a sinful man, that ever loved woman; and thou wert the kindest man that ever stroke with sword; and thou wert the goodliest person that ever came among press of knights; and thou wert the meekest man and the gentlest that ever eat in hall among ladies; and thou wert the sternest knight to thy mortal foe that ever put spear in rest." See Idylls Of The King ; Arthur ; Caxton