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Lightning Man: The Accursed Life of Samuel F. B. Morse
In this brilliantly conceived and written biography, Pulitzer Prize–winning Kenneth Silverman gives us the long and amazing life of the man eulogized by the New York Herald in 1872 as “perhaps the most illustrious American of his age.”
Silverman presents Samuel Morse in all his complexity. There is the gifted and prolific painter (more than three hundred portraits and larger historical canvases) and pioneer photographer, who gave the first lectures on art in America, became the first Professor of Fine Arts at an American college (New York University), and founded the National Academy of Design. There is the republican idealist, prominent in antebellum politics, who ran for Congress and for mayor of New York. But most important, there is the inventor of the American electromagnetic telegraph, which earned Morse the name Lightning Man and brought him the fame he sought.
In these pages, we witness the evolution of the great invention from its inception as an idea to its introduction to the world—an event that astonished Morse’s contemporaries and was considered the supreme expression of the country’s inventive genius. We see how it transformed commerce, journalism, transportation, military affairs, diplomacy, and the very shape of daily life, ushering in the modern era of communication.
But we discover as well that Morse viewed his existence as accursed rather than illustrious, his every achievement seeming to end in loss and his most ambitious canvases went unsold; his beloved republic imploded into civil war, making it unlivable for him; and the commercial success of the telegraph engulfed him in lawsuits challenging the originality and ownership of his invention.
Lightning Man is the first biography of Samuel F. B. Morse in sixty years. It is a revelation of the life of a fascinating and profoundly troubled American genius.
Silverman presents Samuel Morse in all his complexity. There is the gifted and prolific painter (more than three hundred portraits and larger historical canvases) and pioneer photographer, who gave the first lectures on art in America, became the first Professor of Fine Arts at an American college (New York University), and founded the National Academy of Design. There is the republican idealist, prominent in antebellum politics, who ran for Congress and for mayor of New York. But most important, there is the inventor of the American electromagnetic telegraph, which earned Morse the name Lightning Man and brought him the fame he sought.
In these pages, we witness the evolution of the great invention from its inception as an idea to its introduction to the world—an event that astonished Morse’s contemporaries and was considered the supreme expression of the country’s inventive genius. We see how it transformed commerce, journalism, transportation, military affairs, diplomacy, and the very shape of daily life, ushering in the modern era of communication.
But we discover as well that Morse viewed his existence as accursed rather than illustrious, his every achievement seeming to end in loss and his most ambitious canvases went unsold; his beloved republic imploded into civil war, making it unlivable for him; and the commercial success of the telegraph engulfed him in lawsuits challenging the originality and ownership of his invention.
Lightning Man is the first biography of Samuel F. B. Morse in sixty years. It is a revelation of the life of a fascinating and profoundly troubled American genius.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2003
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August 23, 2021
Ten months before his death in 1872, Samuel Finley Breese Morse was treated to a unique honor: an informal “Samuel Morse Day” held in New York City. Organized by a group of Western Union employees, it involved a parade, a boat ride in New York Harbor, and the unveiling of a statue of the man in Central Park. The celebration culminated that evening at the Academy of Music, where in the presence of Morse himself a series of testimonials were delivered. At the end, the original telegraphic apparatus was wheeled out, giving Morse the opportunity to send out a final message through the network – one that he ended by tapping out his own name in the code that he had devised in order to communicate on it.
For Morse the celebrations were not just a touching tribute but a public confirmation of his status as the “father of the telegraph.” In this respect it was a fitting coda for the last part of his life, one that was consumed with Morse’s determination to receive the sole credit for the invention of the electric telegraph. The description of this quest takes up much of the latter part of Kenneth Silverman’s fluid and engrossing biography of the man, which shows not just how intently Morse worked to secure his place in history, but how that quest overshadowed many other aspects of his long and accomplished life.
The descendant of Puritan settlers, Morse was born in Massachusetts in 1789. His father Jedediah was a minister at a Congregationalist church in Charlestown and the author of several popular geographies and travel guides. Consumed with his work, he had little time for his son, who at the age of eight was packed off to be educated at a series of boarding schools. Though an indifferent student, young Morse discovered a gift for drawing, which soon evolved into a budding career as an artist. After graduating from Yale in 1810 he convinced his parents to support his interest in becoming an artist, which entailed traveling to London as the understudy of Washington Allston, then emerging as one of the leading artists of the young republic.
Morse returned in 1815 determined to revisit Europe at the earliest opportunity. Instead, he settled into the routine of a portrait painter and started a family with his new wife Lucretia. These were years of struggle for Morse, as his remunerative work painting portraits of planters and preachers in Charleston and New England did not measure up to his aspirations of greatness. Silverman notes that Morse’s classical style of painting was increasingly out of step with the more Romantic approach then in vogue, which caused his work to be eclipsed by other artists. While Morse did much to improve the standing of American art, this was through his efforts to organize the National Academy of Design, which offered lectures that Silverman credits with introducing the American public to more sophisticated ways of evaluating American art. Yet Morse’s efforts to earn money by showing his own epic paintings failed to recoup their expenses, while the death of his wife left him adrift. Frustrated both professionally and personally, Morse decided to return to Europe, where he toured the major art galleries for another two years.
This second trip proved momentous in a number of respects. Witnessing the turmoil of European politics during the revolutionary year of 1830 confirmed many of Morse’s prejudices against Catholicism and the Roman Catholic Church, and led him to begin his occasional engagement with American politics. It was on his return voyage, though, that Morse began contemplating how to send messages electrically over long distances. Though telegraphs existed in a number of places, these were semaphores requiring towers of arms and flaps to relay messages. Morse envisioned sending messages using electrical current, and by the time the ship returning him to America in 1832 had docked he claimed to have worked out the basics for such as system. This Silverman qualifies by noting the contributions of others who Morse consulted and employed, all of whom furthered his understanding of the operation of such a telegraph and helped him establish the basic apparatus for it. By 1838 Morse was demonstrating his invention in the hope of gaining government funding for a network.
Morse spent the better part of a decade winning support for his telegraph. This involved him in the grubby world of lobbying and business, for which he had little affinity. Silverman sees Morse’s partnership with Amos Kendall, a former postmaster general in Andrew Jackson’s administration, as key to the telegraph’s success. By the end of the 1840s the telegraph was establishing itself rapidly throughout the country, with Morse beginning to enjoy the fruits of his labors. Nevertheless, the battles establishing credit for the telegraph – which were vital to the questions of patents and profit – consumed much of his attention in his later years, with the lawsuits from former associates and the public relations battles with their families fueling a sense in Morse of a life accursed.
As an award-wining biographer, Silverman is well-versed in his craft. His skills are on full display in this book, which weaves his arguments into a lively study that strikes a good balance between narrative and analysis, though occasionally favoring the former at the expense of the latter. His portrayal of Morse is sympathetic, yet one that acknowledges freely Morse’s many flaws, most notably his alienating pettiness, his lamentable politics, and his neglectful parenting of his children. It’s an admirable study of the man and his accomplishments, one that is a good starting point for anyone seeking to learn about Morse and the full range of his many achievements.
For Morse the celebrations were not just a touching tribute but a public confirmation of his status as the “father of the telegraph.” In this respect it was a fitting coda for the last part of his life, one that was consumed with Morse’s determination to receive the sole credit for the invention of the electric telegraph. The description of this quest takes up much of the latter part of Kenneth Silverman’s fluid and engrossing biography of the man, which shows not just how intently Morse worked to secure his place in history, but how that quest overshadowed many other aspects of his long and accomplished life.
The descendant of Puritan settlers, Morse was born in Massachusetts in 1789. His father Jedediah was a minister at a Congregationalist church in Charlestown and the author of several popular geographies and travel guides. Consumed with his work, he had little time for his son, who at the age of eight was packed off to be educated at a series of boarding schools. Though an indifferent student, young Morse discovered a gift for drawing, which soon evolved into a budding career as an artist. After graduating from Yale in 1810 he convinced his parents to support his interest in becoming an artist, which entailed traveling to London as the understudy of Washington Allston, then emerging as one of the leading artists of the young republic.
Morse returned in 1815 determined to revisit Europe at the earliest opportunity. Instead, he settled into the routine of a portrait painter and started a family with his new wife Lucretia. These were years of struggle for Morse, as his remunerative work painting portraits of planters and preachers in Charleston and New England did not measure up to his aspirations of greatness. Silverman notes that Morse’s classical style of painting was increasingly out of step with the more Romantic approach then in vogue, which caused his work to be eclipsed by other artists. While Morse did much to improve the standing of American art, this was through his efforts to organize the National Academy of Design, which offered lectures that Silverman credits with introducing the American public to more sophisticated ways of evaluating American art. Yet Morse’s efforts to earn money by showing his own epic paintings failed to recoup their expenses, while the death of his wife left him adrift. Frustrated both professionally and personally, Morse decided to return to Europe, where he toured the major art galleries for another two years.
This second trip proved momentous in a number of respects. Witnessing the turmoil of European politics during the revolutionary year of 1830 confirmed many of Morse’s prejudices against Catholicism and the Roman Catholic Church, and led him to begin his occasional engagement with American politics. It was on his return voyage, though, that Morse began contemplating how to send messages electrically over long distances. Though telegraphs existed in a number of places, these were semaphores requiring towers of arms and flaps to relay messages. Morse envisioned sending messages using electrical current, and by the time the ship returning him to America in 1832 had docked he claimed to have worked out the basics for such as system. This Silverman qualifies by noting the contributions of others who Morse consulted and employed, all of whom furthered his understanding of the operation of such a telegraph and helped him establish the basic apparatus for it. By 1838 Morse was demonstrating his invention in the hope of gaining government funding for a network.
Morse spent the better part of a decade winning support for his telegraph. This involved him in the grubby world of lobbying and business, for which he had little affinity. Silverman sees Morse’s partnership with Amos Kendall, a former postmaster general in Andrew Jackson’s administration, as key to the telegraph’s success. By the end of the 1840s the telegraph was establishing itself rapidly throughout the country, with Morse beginning to enjoy the fruits of his labors. Nevertheless, the battles establishing credit for the telegraph – which were vital to the questions of patents and profit – consumed much of his attention in his later years, with the lawsuits from former associates and the public relations battles with their families fueling a sense in Morse of a life accursed.
As an award-wining biographer, Silverman is well-versed in his craft. His skills are on full display in this book, which weaves his arguments into a lively study that strikes a good balance between narrative and analysis, though occasionally favoring the former at the expense of the latter. His portrayal of Morse is sympathetic, yet one that acknowledges freely Morse’s many flaws, most notably his alienating pettiness, his lamentable politics, and his neglectful parenting of his children. It’s an admirable study of the man and his accomplishments, one that is a good starting point for anyone seeking to learn about Morse and the full range of his many achievements.
May 24, 2025
“WHAT IN GOD’S NAME HAVE WE DONE?!” might have been a more appropriate first official telegraph message than the actual, “WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?”
(More on that below).
Morse engaged in a wide variety of activities throughout his life, from student to artist to portrait painter to experimenter, political activist, entrepenuer, right-wing candidate, anti-abolitionist, and religious campaigner. While his most well-known accomplishment and the bulk of his adult life was devoted to the development of the telegraph, he was also a skilled artist, a neglectful husband, a horrible father, a fervent believer in the superiority of Protestant republicanism, a rabid anti-Catholic, a myopic supporter of American slavery, and a fervently religious, childishly naïve and overly trusting, man.
Through the course of reading this book I at first liked Samuel Morse, when as a young man he was rebelling against his bossy, overbearing parents, and developing his own skills as an artist, then cheered for him as he put together his telegraph demo company, was with him sympathetically as he warned against authoritarian Catholics endangering republican America (which remains true today, to which evangelicals should be included) and then, later, cringed repeatedly as he trusted people he should not, stayed aloof from his children, and outspokenly campaigned against the Abolitionists (and FOR slavery, leaning on the Bible—augh) and President Lincoln.
Of course, in none of these last list of things was he alone. He had plenty of company, and that is why reading American history helps me deal with the mess that America is today. I am, once again, reminded that America has always appeared to be at war with itself.
For example: Morse held a patent on the telegraph in the US. His was such a great design that it was being adopted all over Europe. But the US government would not grant him any money to develop it in the US, so he had to bring in private investors, who proceeded to school him in the back-stabbing skills and money-grasping acumen of so-called “men of business.” Some of these double-crossed him by openly campaigning against his patents, his inventions, and his very character (e.g., Reilly), or more subtly by whispering promises of fidelity and then plotting to steal his business from under him (e.g., Field). The rhetoric thrown around by these businessmen and their supporters was vicious, slanderous, and full of lies.
And, in the midst of all this, the American press was rapturous at the wonderful new invention that would finally unite all of mankind in brotherhood and peaceful understanding.
“The New York Sun proclaimed the telegraph ‘the greatest revolution of modern times and indeed of all time, for the amelioration of Society.’ It would create civic order, strengthen domestic ties, bring harmony among nations, and redeem mankind.” (p 242)
(Sound familiar? I am looking at you, Internet, and you, Twitter.)
Instead, the telegraph just increased the speed of all the vicious slander and lies that filled the papers back then. Such blind faith in the good of mankind….
At the same time, Morse himself was too vain to allow others credit due to them, and gave the cold shoulder to their widows and children. Moreover, having endured the slander and outcry of the wild American “marketplace of ideas” for too many years, this man who hated Catholicism and royalty with a burning passion for the goodness of republican representative government of, by and for the people, traveled to Europe as an escape and felt relief among, and even admiration for, the ranks of European imperial courtiers, including, notably, Czarist Russia, a country that, in typical Ruskie fashion, used Morse’s invention without even bothering to pay for it.
So… EYE OPENING.
Rest in Peace, Lightning Man.
(More on that below).
Morse engaged in a wide variety of activities throughout his life, from student to artist to portrait painter to experimenter, political activist, entrepenuer, right-wing candidate, anti-abolitionist, and religious campaigner. While his most well-known accomplishment and the bulk of his adult life was devoted to the development of the telegraph, he was also a skilled artist, a neglectful husband, a horrible father, a fervent believer in the superiority of Protestant republicanism, a rabid anti-Catholic, a myopic supporter of American slavery, and a fervently religious, childishly naïve and overly trusting, man.
Through the course of reading this book I at first liked Samuel Morse, when as a young man he was rebelling against his bossy, overbearing parents, and developing his own skills as an artist, then cheered for him as he put together his telegraph demo company, was with him sympathetically as he warned against authoritarian Catholics endangering republican America (which remains true today, to which evangelicals should be included) and then, later, cringed repeatedly as he trusted people he should not, stayed aloof from his children, and outspokenly campaigned against the Abolitionists (and FOR slavery, leaning on the Bible—augh) and President Lincoln.
Of course, in none of these last list of things was he alone. He had plenty of company, and that is why reading American history helps me deal with the mess that America is today. I am, once again, reminded that America has always appeared to be at war with itself.
For example: Morse held a patent on the telegraph in the US. His was such a great design that it was being adopted all over Europe. But the US government would not grant him any money to develop it in the US, so he had to bring in private investors, who proceeded to school him in the back-stabbing skills and money-grasping acumen of so-called “men of business.” Some of these double-crossed him by openly campaigning against his patents, his inventions, and his very character (e.g., Reilly), or more subtly by whispering promises of fidelity and then plotting to steal his business from under him (e.g., Field). The rhetoric thrown around by these businessmen and their supporters was vicious, slanderous, and full of lies.
And, in the midst of all this, the American press was rapturous at the wonderful new invention that would finally unite all of mankind in brotherhood and peaceful understanding.
“The New York Sun proclaimed the telegraph ‘the greatest revolution of modern times and indeed of all time, for the amelioration of Society.’ It would create civic order, strengthen domestic ties, bring harmony among nations, and redeem mankind.” (p 242)
(Sound familiar? I am looking at you, Internet, and you, Twitter.)
Instead, the telegraph just increased the speed of all the vicious slander and lies that filled the papers back then. Such blind faith in the good of mankind….
At the same time, Morse himself was too vain to allow others credit due to them, and gave the cold shoulder to their widows and children. Moreover, having endured the slander and outcry of the wild American “marketplace of ideas” for too many years, this man who hated Catholicism and royalty with a burning passion for the goodness of republican representative government of, by and for the people, traveled to Europe as an escape and felt relief among, and even admiration for, the ranks of European imperial courtiers, including, notably, Czarist Russia, a country that, in typical Ruskie fashion, used Morse’s invention without even bothering to pay for it.
So… EYE OPENING.
Rest in Peace, Lightning Man.
February 20, 2018
Intesting bio about an interesting man, who was generally enveloped in gloom. I learned a lot about the telegraph, which one does not spend much time pondering, normally. Morse kind of got sandbagged for his contributions, sort of like the host of folks who had Edison trample on their findings. Book bogged down a bit in the middle, there was a heap of technical jargon, and who was arguing with who over who did what sort of fare, but overall I was glad to read this tome. And who knew Morse was such a prolific artist? That usually gets short shrift.
April 3, 2016
Fine bio. Silverman has a knack for showing the fame and foibles, strengths and weaknesses of his subjects, as he did with Cotton Mather some years ago. Morse comes off as a talented inventor, and artist, deserving of his place in history; also as a poor father, self serving, a racist and a bigot.
Such as it is for most characters in history- far from perfect- human beings who accomplished significant deeds in history, despite or because of their faults.
Such as it is for most characters in history- far from perfect- human beings who accomplished significant deeds in history, despite or because of their faults.
September 27, 2007
A very interesting biography. I learned a lot about Morse, and even learned to dislike him a bit, base a so much of his life that I wasn't aware of prior to picking up this book.
February 27, 2021
I have to kind of go over my notes. I love technology, am fascinated with life in the 1870s to 1930s, the transition of horse to car, newspaper to telegraph->telephone->radio->infancy of television. What bothered me, were the stories of who really invented the telegraph, and this book seems to indicate it was Samuel Morse. Sure the initial ideas came on the boat trip back to America from England & Europe. Samuel was artistic & something about that I think was responsible for his innovative creating of a simple code, still in use today, if just in hobby radio people. The bickering and lawsuits that happened in the competitive companies that strung the telegraph wires.
If not for all the companies putting up telegraph poles and stringing the lines, it would have been a long time coming & we would be less advanced today. I would like to know more of the stories this involved. But that will take reading some of the older newspapers that are digitized and time.
I was bothered that Samuel Morse felt that African Americans were inferior. I don't really think he had a hatred toward, but he believed.
The laying of cable across the Atlantic is certainly exciting. Just think of that in 1858 the United States president, President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria were connected. "Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace and good will toward men" was the first message.
I will read more on the telegraph, and I encourage you to read this great book. If you are as curious as I am on the subject you will want to read more.
If not for all the companies putting up telegraph poles and stringing the lines, it would have been a long time coming & we would be less advanced today. I would like to know more of the stories this involved. But that will take reading some of the older newspapers that are digitized and time.
I was bothered that Samuel Morse felt that African Americans were inferior. I don't really think he had a hatred toward, but he believed.
The laying of cable across the Atlantic is certainly exciting. Just think of that in 1858 the United States president, President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria were connected. "Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace and good will toward men" was the first message.
I will read more on the telegraph, and I encourage you to read this great book. If you are as curious as I am on the subject you will want to read more.
January 3, 2018
Silly title, but very good bio of Samuel Morse and his development of the telegraph. There is a great side story, here, of the rise of early electronic communications that is perhaps more interesting than the bio. Morse was a difficult character and the author wisely leaves a lot of judgement off the table. It gets confounding, however.
December 13, 2018
Amazing story about the man who invented the telegraph and Morse Code - and was an accomplished painter as well...
November 1, 2021
Took me a long time to get through this book. I only gave the book three stars because I thought it sometimes got bogged down with the amount of detail included . Extremely well researched and comprehensive. Morse was a very complex man and at times I felt sympathetic toward him, and at times I felt he was absolutely reprehensible, especially with his attitudes toward his wife and children, Catholics, immigrants, and slavery. The quantity of actual quotes from Morse and others in this story gives the reader a real feel for the individuals as well as gives a commentary of the times. I found the amount of historical data of the period of Morse's even more interesting than the story of the man himself.
December 14, 2023
A good biography of an interesting time and place. Art, science, capitalism and politics. Genius and greed. The telegraph transformed the world (almost instantaneous communication for the very first time). Its impact was immense in the years before, during, and after the Civil War. Then came the telephone, and radio, and the internet.
June 19, 2023
I agree with the reviewer who said that the title is a distortion of the truth - Morse manufactured his own curses, created much of his own misery. But the storytelling and research is still well-done even if Silverman gives his protagonist a few too mulligans.
May 12, 2025
I read this for a graduate-level book review, and while it was enlightening, it wasn’t particularly interesting
August 5, 2022
INot an awful book or anything, but kinda uninspiring. I hardly think Morse's life was "accursed," not more than anyone else of his time, much less accursed than the slaves he adamantly thought needed to stay slaves (despite being a Unionist). I'm still not sure after reading this that he didn't hog way too much attention for the telegraph. It IS kinda sus that he's a painter all his life, no scientific training, then bam in his 40s he comes up with one of the most world changing inventions of all time...with a lot of help from his friends it seems clear. Speaking of painting, probably could have spent a lot less time on that and more on the science and background of the telegraph, instead of it just being presented basically as "all of a sudden, he thought it up on a boat ride."
March 19, 2016
Lightning Man: The Accursed Life of Samuel F. B. Morse by Kenneth Silverman. Well written. If not for Silverman and his writing abilties, I would have gotten tired of Morse. He was such a horrible person to be around. He abandoned his family after his wife's death, one of the first American artists and inventors of note, created the telegraph and then fought to protect his rightful ownership of his invention until he died. His father is the Father of Geography. Good read but not a keeper.
He was an ardent Calvinist turned Unitarian while also an ardent supporter of slavery - even trying to save the institution prior to the end of the Civil War and quoted scripture that justified its continuance. He was a northerner, but early in his career had traveled to the South to make a living as a portrait painter. The author does a great job to provide what life was like then and Morse's contemporaries. Morse painted John Adams, James Monroe, Marquis de Lafayette, and other people in high society.
He was an ardent Calvinist turned Unitarian while also an ardent supporter of slavery - even trying to save the institution prior to the end of the Civil War and quoted scripture that justified its continuance. He was a northerner, but early in his career had traveled to the South to make a living as a portrait painter. The author does a great job to provide what life was like then and Morse's contemporaries. Morse painted John Adams, James Monroe, Marquis de Lafayette, and other people in high society.
July 4, 2015
Kennith Silverman takes you on a journey. The trip has all the details and suspense of fiction and only a crafts person like KS can weave the daily trials and tribulations of history into a narrative that will leave you with slices of a life long gone that make you appreciate his genius Here is a sample. He states that it has the effect of seeing the black crosses on grave markers that make the graves of unfortunates that were murdered while traveling. WOW. Who knew, who cared? Kennith Silverman does.
June 8, 2010
One of those serendipity books that popped up on my library's list of new e-books. A great commuter read on the Pocket Reader as each chapter tells its own small chunk of history. Most fascinated with Morse's early years as an artist -- and amazed at how well the black-and-white illustrations came through on the electronic reader.
June 7, 2016
An absorbing account of the birth of the telegraph, the first practical digital network, and its chaotic development. Many worthwhile parallels to today's seemingly overnight dependence on the net. Also of interest is the associated business boom and bust cycles and the eventual consolidation into a monopoly called Western Union.
November 15, 2012
Jerel teases me for reading a whole book about the history of the telegraph. Whatever, he's just jealous because he doesn't know morse code.
February 6, 2014
Excellent read. However, I would have liked to hear more discussion of the origins of Morse's anti-Catholocism, as well as his political positions.
December 14, 2014
Awful man! Ruined the book for me.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews