Telegraph Key

The tapping device that shrank the world/Inventions & Discoveries

The telegraph key, central to Samuel Morse's electric telegraph system patented in 1840, allowed operators to send messages as electrical pulses over long distances. A standard Morse key is about 15 cm long and 6 cm tall, weighing roughly 0.5 kg. The first telegraph message, 'What hath God wrought,' was sent from Washington to Baltimore in 1844 across 61 km of wire. At peak use, skilled operators could send about 30 words per minute.