Telegraph Key and Sounder
Description
In 1843, Congress funded a 38-mile telegraph line along the B&O Railroad’s Washington Branch. On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse (1791–1872) used a telegraph key like this one to send the first long-distance telegraph message “What Hath God Wrought?” from the basement of the U.S. Capitol building to the B&O’s Mount Clare Shops in West Baltimore. His invention, and language known as “Morse Code” changed the world.
Date
circa 1870