On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse sent the first long-distance, electric telegraph signal, between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, in which he sent the message: What hath God wrought! This was a historic development as it brought about the telegraph age in America. This year marks the official inauguration of the first commercial telegraph line in the United States. While Morse and others had conducted smaller demonstrations as early as 1837–1838, the 1844 transmission is recognized as the definitive moment that proved the technology's practical and commercial viability.