Morse Code History Explained

The history of Morse code starts from a straightforward human need — communication. In the 19th and 20th centuries, people desperately needed to find a way to communicate efficiently, and that's how Morse code was born. Let's dive deeper into who invented Morse code, how it evolved, and other fascinating Morse code facts stemming from its almost two centuries of history.

It probably won't come as a surprise that Morse code was invented by a man named Morse. 😃 Samuel F. B. Morse, together with his colleague Alfred Vail, created an electrical telegraph in the US; but then, they were faced with a challenge: how should we use this new invention to communicate?

The pair knew that they needed a system that would define the meaning of different signals. Vail was the first to come up with the idea of creating patterns using dots (short signals) and dashes (long signals) to convey information. When working on this system, they rightfully thought to reserve simpler patterns for more frequently used letters, while more complicated signals were assigned to less common characters.

The first official message using Morse code was sent on May 24, 1844. The signal read "What hath God wrought?", and it was sent by Morse, at the time located in the Capitol, in Washington, D.C., to Vail, who was in Baltimore. That's how the two men showed the world that they had invented a way to exchange information over long distances — and it was revolutionary.

Here is what that signal transmission would've looked like in the American Mose code:
.–– .... .– –   .... .– ...   ––. . . –..   .–– . .. . . ..– ––. .... –   –..–.

You can check how to transmit this message in the International Morse code instead, using our Morse code translator.

Morse's name became synonymous with the code, but it is essential to point out that Vail's input was far from insignificant — he worked on the details of the system and contributed to the creation of the telegraph. He is regarded as the second Morse code creator.

Now that we have established who made Morse code, let's look into its evolution. After 1844, the American Morse code spread quickly, and within a decade, it was used every day to send messages across the country. Europe adopted its own, modified version containing diacritics in the 1950s — one that would later be called the Continental Morse code. Finally, in 1865, the International Telegraph Union published an official International Morse code, which was similar to the Continental Morse code, with just a few minor differences.

International Morse code was considerably simpler than the original American Morse code. It eliminated pauses within the singular characters and introduced consistent pauses across the board. It established short pauses for breaks between signals, long pauses between characters, and even longer to separate words. It's truly fascinating how the human mind can learn to decode all those signals and pauses almost instantly.

If you're fascinated by how a telegraph works, like we are, maybe you could also be interested in our electrical power calculator.

Over the years, Morse code expanded to many fields:

• The rail industry — Rail companies started using Morse code to report arrivals and departures, which contributed to improving the safety of their services.
• Media — The invention of Morse code had a direct impact on the advent of mass media. Thanks to this new system, news outlets could receive and communicate information instantly. Stock prices, weather reports, and important events — journalists knew about everything within minutes, making the world shrink in a way that had not been possible until then.
• Maritime communication — To this day, Morse code is primarily associated with ships and the maritime industry as a whole. By the late 19th century, it had become the universal language of the sea. For instance, the Titanic, having struck an iceberg, sent out two distress signals over the radio — first, the older signal, CQD (–.–. ––.– –..), and then SOS (... ––– ...), which saved many lives that night.
• Wartime communication – During the two World Wars, Morse code was crucial for rapid strategy-making. The time that Morse code saved truly made a difference between defeat and victory.

In the mid-1900s, new communication technologies emerged. Thanks to modern telephone systems, the use of a complex encoding system became obsolete, as it was considerably easier and faster to transmit voice, rather than receive and interpret signals. Gradually, thanks to teletype machines, it also became possible to transmit text. Western Union sent out its final telegram in 2006.

But the legacy of Morse code hasn't died. Here are some modern Morse code facts:

• The aviation industry has been using Morse code to transmit the identification codes of navigational beacons, such as VOR (very high-frequency omnidirectional range station). Nowadays, VOR radio beacons send identification signals alternating Morse code and voice announcements. Once pilots have tuned their instruments to the correct frequency, they can listen for these signals to make sure that they are flying in the right direction.
• In recent decades, a niche of amateur radio has emerged. In the U.S., radio enthusiasts can obtain a special license to communicate using Morse code over the radio. Moreover, Morse code clubs organize many competitions for their participants all around the world.
• Morse code continues to be regarded as the emergency communication backup system. If, for any reason, you are unable to use your voice, you can always use a flashlight, tap on surfaces, or do virtually anything that allows you to send long and short signals. You can learn how to do that using our practical guide.

Nowadays, to the average person, Morse code is nothing more than a trivia question during a pub quiz, when in reality, it's an intricate system with a fascinating history that lives on in ways that we can't even imagine.