Samuel Morse was born on this date in 1741. And while his main “claim to fame” was his being a co-developer of Morse code, Samuel Morse was also an accomplished artist (painter). Morse studied under Washington Allston in England from 1811-1815 where he established his reputation as a portrait painter, here is one of his non-portrait paintings entitled “Dying Hercules.” This particular painting is considered Morse’s masterpiece. Morse returned to Europe to improve his painting skills (between 1830-1832) and visited Italy, Switzerland, and France. While in Paris, he started a project to paint miniature copies of the Louvre’s 38 most famous paintings onto a single canvas (measuring 6 ft x 9 ft). He finished this painting upon his return to the United States and entitled it The Gallery of the Louvre.
The Gun-Carryin' Librarian 