Morse code is an alphabetic code of long and short sounds used in telegraphy. It was invented by Samuel Morse in 1836 and successfully tested in 1844. The best known Morse code phrase is SOS. The Titanic used both the old distress code and the new one when it struck an iceberg in 1912. Morse code is still used today by maritime, military and amateur radio services.
Morse code is an alphabetic code of long and short sounds, originally transmitted by the telegraph. Each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding sound or set of unique sounds. Long sounds are indicated as dashes, while short sounds are dots. Variable lengths of silence denote spaces between letters or words.
To make a point on a telegraph, the telegraph key or switch was pressed and allowed to spring back rapidly. To take a shot, the key was held down longer before allowing it to bounce. Messages were sent by tapping the key to a rhythm of coded letters. The messages were received via a radio transceiver, sounding like dots and dashes of static electricity.
American Samuel Finely Breese Morse (1791-1872) invented the telegraph and this code in 1836. It was successfully tested on May 24, 1844, when Morse himself sent the first message between Washington DC and Baltimore: “What has God done? ”
The best known Morse code phrase is SOS (save our souls). SOS was chosen because its code — three dots followed by three dashes followed by three dots — is as unmistakable as anything else and recognizable even to those unfamiliar with the code.
Before SOS, the code was CQ, which meant anyone listening, please respond. A third letter followed, revealing the reason for the hail. In an emergency, it was a “D”. When the Titanic struck an iceberg just before midnight on her maiden voyage in April 1912, operator John G. Phillips sent a distress message using the old distress code and the new one. The Titanic’s exact broadcast on that cold night was CQD CQD SOS SOS CQD DE MGY MGY. “MGY” were the call letters for Titanic, while “DE” meant from. The innocuous-looking message translated literally to:
All hail our anguish! All hail our anguish! Save our souls! Save our souls! All hail our anguish! From the Titanic!
California was less than 20 miles (32 km) away and had enough boats to rescue everyone aboard the Titanic, but their radio officer was off duty as it was the middle of the night. The Titanic tried to get their attention by firing rockets. The officers on board California watched the flares but could not understand. The next morning, when the ship’s radio operator resumed duty, he learned from other ships what had happened. The Carpathia responded immediately to Titanic’s distress call, but that vessel was 58 miles (93 km) away. By the time Carpathia arrived, it was too late for more than 1,500 passengers on the Titanic. Because of this disaster, it became law that a ship must always have a radio operator on duty.
Telegraph operators created a shorthand that endures today in totally unfamiliar environments. One example is the use of “30” by journalists to mark the end of their copy. This was the code because I have nothing else to send.
Morse code is still used today by maritime, military and amateur radio services. The code can also be sent by light, using short or long flashes to denote dots and dashes.
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