Samuel Finley Breeze Morse

Although he is most famous for inventing the telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse avidly pursued the visual arts until he ceased painting in 1837. Morse painted commissioned portraits to support himself, but his true passion was for grand history paintings. His contributions to the field were many. Morse founded the National Academy of Design in New York and served as its president from 1826 to 1845. He also became the first professor of the literature of the arts of design at New York University in 1835.