In 1836, a man named Samuel F.B Morse got together with colleagues Joseph Henry and Alfred Vail to develop an electrical telegraph system. An electrical telegraph system is a telegraph that uses electrical signals via telecommunication lines or radio. This system was revolutionary and unprecedented in history. They created a system that would send electrical pulses across a current through a series of wires that was connected to an electromagnetic receiver. However, in order to use this system, a code was needed that incorporated only pulses and pauses. Before the invention of the telegraph, most messages were sent over long distances by messengers who memorized them or carried them in writing. These messages could be delivered no faster than the speed of a horse. It is only in the following years that messages could then be sent visually, using flags or with mechanical systems called semaphore telegraphs. Although, these systems required the receiver to be close enough or …show more content…
This continued in use until 1838, when Samuel Morse and his assistant, Alfred Vail, replaced it with a simple hand key. This change was claimed by Vail to be his invention. After creating a machine in which to communicate electronically, the next step was for Morse to find a code of communication. Ultimately, Morse came up with a code and named it Morse Code. The primary use for Morse code was so that operators could translate messages quicker and more efficiently. Originally, Morse had planned to transmit messages using a numerical code. He wanted to assign a particular sequence of dots and dashes to a number and use a codebook to decode them, but Alfred Vail convinced him to include letters and special characters, so it could be used more generally. Morse code can be sent in various ways such as in a series of on and off tones, flashes, or