Californians have sped electronic messages along wires since 1853, when the first lines linked San Francisco and Sacramento. In 1861, work began on the overland telegraph line.
Former Sacramento Agent Isaac Hubbard built the
leg between Fort Churchill, Nevada and Salt Lake City, Utah. The entire line was
connected on October 25, 1861. California instantly became in touch with New
York.
(Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum-“The Pacific Telegraph
Act 1860)
Morse code has a 21st century role as an assistant to technology, helping people
with a variety of disabilities to communicate. Morse code can be sent by someone
with severe motion disability, as long as they have some minimal motor control.
In some cases, this means alternately blowing into and sucking on a plastic
tube. People with severe sensory disabilities such as being deaf or blind can
receive the code through a skin buzzer.
(“Telegraphs and Telephones.”-IEEE Virtual Museum)