Editing Samuel Morse (section)

==Relays==
[[File:Leonard D. Gale cph.3a00116.jpg|thumb|Leonard Gale, who helped Morse achieve the technological breakthrough of getting the telegraphic signal to travel long distances over wire]]

Morse encountered the problem of getting a telegraphic signal to carry over more than a few hundred yards of wire. His breakthrough came from the insights of Professor [[Leonard Gale]], who taught chemistry at [[New York University]] (he was a personal friend of [[Joseph Henry]]). With Gale's help, Morse introduced extra circuits or [[relay]]s at frequent intervals and was soon able to send a message through {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}} of wire. This was the great breakthrough he had been seeking.{{sfn|Standage|1998|p=40}} Morse and Gale were soon joined by [[Alfred Vail]], an enthusiastic young man with excellent skills, insights, and money.

At the [[Speedwell Ironworks]] in [[Morristown, New Jersey]] on January 11, 1838, Morse and Vail made the first public demonstration of the electric telegraph. Although Morse and Alfred Vail had done most of the research and development in the ironworks facilities, they chose a nearby factory house as the demonstration site. Without the [[Relay#History|repeater]], Morse devised a system of electromagnetic relays. This was the key innovation, as it freed the technology from being limited by distance in sending messages.<ref name="McCullough 2011, pp. 80-88">McCullough (2011), pp. 80-88.</ref> The range of the telegraph was limited to {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}}, and the inventors had pulled {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} of wires inside the factory house through an elaborate scheme. The first public transmission, with the message, "A patient waiter is no loser", was witnessed by a mostly local crowd.<ref name="McCullough 2011, pp. 80-88"/>

Morse traveled to [[Washington, D.C.]] in 1838 seeking federal sponsorship for a telegraph line but was not successful. He went to Europe, seeking both sponsorship and patents, but in London discovered that Cooke and Wheatstone had already established priority. After his return to the US, Morse finally gained financial backing by Maine congressman [[Francis Ormand Jonathan Smith]]. This funding may be the first instance of government support to a private researcher, especially funding for applied (as opposed to basic or theoretical) research.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Audretsch|display-authors=etal|title=The Economics of Science and Technology|journal=The Journal of Technology Transfer|volume=27|issue=2|year=2002|page=159|doi=10.1023/A:1014382532639|s2cid=143820412}}</ref>