Morse's patent : full exposure of Dr. Chas. T. Jackson's pretensions to the invention of the American electro-magnetic telegraph / by Amos Kendall.

  • Kendall, Amos, 1789-1869.
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Morse's patent : full exposure of Dr. Chas. T. Jackson's pretensions to the invention of the American electro-magnetic telegraph / by Amos Kendall. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    10/64
    • We have marked in italics the most striking discrepancies be- tween Dr. Jackson^ account of what took place on board the Sully, in his letter of 1807, and his deposition of 1850. 1. In his letter he says it was either Mr. Rives or Mr. Fisher, who said it would be well if we could send news in the same rapid manner. In his deposition he says it was one of the passengers, his memory failing to designate which. 2. In his letter he describes the perforation of paper by the electric spark, as one mode of telegraphing described by him. In his deposition he omits this altogether. 3. In his letter he says the perforation of paper by the electric spark and the discoloring of prepared paper by the electric cur- rent, were the two projects finally adopted for future trial. On this point his deposition is entirely silent. 4. In bis letter, after setting forth specifically three modes of telegraphing described by him, he says, here the conversation changed for a while, and was resumed by you the next day. Precisely at this point in his deposition he interpolates a fourth modr, of telegraphing, being in many respects precisely the same at then conceived, and afterwards perfected by Prof. Morse, and alleges that a description of that mode also constituted a part of the conversation. 5. His letter, which he repeatedly stated contained all the con- versation, and, as he said to Sidney E. Morse, put his brother, Prof. Morse, in full possession of the facts on which my [Ills'] claim is founded contained not a word descriptive of an Electron Magnetic Telegraph. On the contrary, all the projects therein described had in view a mere Electric Telegraph; and in his let- ter to Prof. Silliman, dated Dec. 25, 1832, Dr. Jackson said, We invented an Electric Telegraph In his deposition he says they called it an Electro-Magnetic Telegraph. 6. In his letter he said, You at first proposed 1. 2, 3, 4, 5, G, 7,8, 9, 0, and subsequently reduced the number to five figures and an 0. In his deposition he says /proposed an arrangement of punc- tured points or dots to represent the ten numerals. Mr. Morse proposed to reduce it to five numerals and an 0. 7. In his letter he said, I give you full credit for you ingeni- ous suggestions as to the divisions in the markings, which you certainly did propose. In his deposition he not only claims to have been the first to suggest the use of dots and spaces, but says the system of signs was the result of our joint action.