Samuel F.B. Morse invented the electromagnetic telegraph and the Library of Congress holds an extensive collection of his papers. About 6,500 of these documents are now available online. They document Morse’s invention, his participation in the development of telegraph systems in the United States and abroad, his career as a painter, his family life, his travels, and his interest in photography and religion. Items include correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks, printed matter, maps, and drawings. The collection contains the original paper tape containing the first telegraph message sent on May 24, 1844.
Go to: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sfbmhtml/sfbmhome.html
