Hear "What Hath GOD Wrought ?", original 1844 telegraph message

The Samuel Morse (1791 - 1872) Telegraph, perfected by 1844, was not only the first device for INSTANT long distance communication, but also the first instrument to make recordings on a moving surface. As the key was tapped and electric message sent, a magnetic stylus indented a moving strip of paper. Thanks to Patrick Feaster of the First Sounds collective, today's computer technology can scan the original strip for audio playback. What we hear, then, is not a recording of airborne sounds, but the actual pace and tempo of Samuel Morse as he typed out that first message from Washington D.C. to Baltimore on May 24, 1844, the birth of modern telecommunications. This is the earliest significant historical event that we can re-experience by audio playback.

[@ferociousgumby]

We may be back to this technology sooner than we think.

[@scudworthsboss5858]

Elaborate

[@zippetydodahday]

Just some FYI- This was not sent from Washington, DC, but from the little town of Beltsville, Maryland. There’s a plaque on US Route 1 Baltimore-Washington Pike that shows where this took place. Beltsville was a tiny town about 20 (+ -) miles north of Washington.

[@princekirkpatrickmadrigal3223]

typed by Samuel Morse sure but my friend Cian keeps telling about alfred vail who had to listen to this where's his credit

[@scottsterling7659]

Morse wasn't about hearing and writing the old machines punched the code on a piece of paper, so technically he could sit there and decode it for as long as he wants because the code is infront of him

[@QuaaludeCharlie]

"What hath God wrought?" :) QC

[@JimPigMuseumOfSound]

[@pullthestring]

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!! Wonderful solution for the foreseen, and necessity, means of recording and the reproduction of the actual event of transmitting code , and for error checking (at that time)! I must find out when this audio file was first created from the original paper strip recording. Thanks for posting this!!!

[@JimPigMuseumOfSound]

For info on the creation of this sound file, check out Patrick Feaster's book "Pictures of Sound", or his web site Griffonage.com

[@archielinke7586]

The original blessing over the telegram, now done over the network. "what hath God wrought? " is a blessing of the Holy Ghost, and cannot be denied. I advise this blessing for any who might need it over their very devices, and say I concur with the very idea. In the name of Jesus Christ, I bare witness unto you; that the Holy Ghost truly bares witness of the truth of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ, and that there is a God in Heaven, that Christ lives still and is real and understands everyone that He bled for in the garden of Gethsemane, and the truth of all things, and the Holy Ghost does give us insight into what we should be doing in times of need. I bare this witness unto you in the name of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen, and Amen.

[@JimPigMuseumOfSound]

Amen Brother ! Thank you for spreading the TRUTH

[@TheHappyGabeShow]

Ah! A fellow believer of our Lord and savior, hello!

[@davidericcio5334]

I suppose it is not an original recording from 1844, because the first recording machine ever was from 1857 by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. with the Phoneautograph and the first phonograph cylinder by Edison is from 1877. Thanks.

[@JimPigMuseumOfSound]

+Davide Riccio What you are hearing is derived directly from the original paper strip by Morse, which is housed at the Library of Congress. True, the strip contains no sound recordings, and the sine wave sound is merely a sound sample, but the sounds are driven by the original electrical impulses as they are being read off Morse's preserved strip, and played back at the same speed is was recorded at. The device used to educe the sounds is Berkeley's IRENE scanner, which can turn images of sounds or vibrations into sound we can hear.

[@davidericcio5334]

+Joe Orbin Thanks for the explanation. Absolutely important sound document.

[@pirsabel]

“what hath geed weieeght” is what I’d copy from the audio, sorry

[@pirsabel]

ah, I checked: indeed different codes, American Morse, to be exact. o was ditdit and r was ditditdit . Interesting! edit: and my kind of misreading was called “hog-morse - the 19th century autocorrect” :-D

[@236483]

Nice, but probably would have been better if played back using a sounder instead of a modulated tone.

[@supernalbjj]

the day sky net started

[@Josh-le6lu]

I've always wanted to hear that strip but I wonder if actual tones were heard or if it was just clicks?

[@ferociousgumby]

Dit dit dit, dot dot dot, dit dit dit

[@bartthegamer1354]

Wouldn’t this technically be the first sound recording

[@binghamguevara6814]

I don't get it

[@agustinabernard3898]

ok