Home >>
Communications History >>
Telegraph Era >>
Worldwide >>
Morse Code
Samuel Morse, in responding to the demand for an efficient way to
transmit messages via telegraph, developed a code he hoped would
replace more elaborate message delivery methods.
Initially, this system of dots and dashes, patented by Morse in
1840, required a code book to interpret. Numbers were used to
represent different words, and messages were sent in that fashion
from operator to operator.
Through his later association with the machinist Alfred Vail,
Morse refined this code until series of dots and dashes came to
represent individual letters, numbers, and punctuation forms.
In those early days, these dots and dashes were rendered as short
and long marks on a tickertape, from which an operator would
translate the message. This method quickly fell by the wayside,
however, when human telegraph operators were found to be more
efficient.
Most industries came to transmit their important business news
and updates via Morse code, either by going through a trained
operator employed at the telegraph office, or by retaining such an
individual for themselves.
Even after the telephone became popular, the rail industry in
particular continued to use this code well into the 20th century.
The use of Morse code is now preserved in Alberta and around the
world chiefly by amateur radio operators who use it to communicate.
Modern code is transmitted in long and short tones, rather than in
clicks.
Copyright © 2004
Heritage Community Foundation and
Telephone Historical Centre All Rights Reserved
|