May 24, 1844: Samuel Morse opens a telegraph line connecting Washington D.C. and Baltimore. 

Samuel Morse developed the electric telegraph and his eponymous code in 1836; by 1843, the U.S. government had appropriated to him $30,000 for the construction of an experimental 61 km telegraph line that would run from Washington D.C. to Baltimore - this line was completed in early 1844. It officially opened on May 24, 1844, when Morse sent the words “What hath God wrought” (a biblical quote from the Book of Numbers) from the Capitol to Baltimore. By 1861, telegraph lines spanned the continent, connecting the East and West coasts and rendering most other forms of communication obsolete.

Morse’s 1844 telegraph transmitted messages at a speed of thirty characters per minute, a speed that is simulated above. As telegraphs became more advanced (and operators more skilled), much higher transmission speeds were made possible as well.

May 22, 1844: Mary Cassatt is born.

Born in Pennsylvania, this ”grande dame” of Impressionism moved to Paris in her early twenties to hone her artistic talents. In the 1870s, she was invited by Edgar Degas to display her works at an Impressionist exhibition. In joining this group, she befriended Degas himself, as well as Berthe Morisot, another prominent female Impressionist. She ultimately participated in four Impressionist exhibitions, although her paintings differed from those of many of her colleagues in subject matter. Many of her paintings were portraits, especially of women and their children. By the mid-1880s, Cassatt had begun to drift away from strict Impressionism (which itself was overshadowed by the dawn of the 20th century by other more avant-garde movements like Cubism). While she was not well-known in her native country, France did not forget her artistic contributions - she was awarded the Legion d’honneur in 1904. 

May 18, 1804: Napoleon is proclaimed “Emperor of the French”.

This date also marked the French Senate’s adoption of the Constitution of the Year XII, which established the First French Empire and declared Napoleon Bonaparte (who was, at the time, “First Consul”) Emperor Napoleon I. He held this title until his second abdication in June of 1815, following his defeat at Waterloo. 

As Emperor, his full titles were:

His Imperial and Royal Majesty Napoleon I, By the Grace of God and the Constitutions of the Republic, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine and the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt, Mediator of the Helvetic Confederation.

Napoleon, as First Consul, held a virtual dictatorship over France by the year 1800, but his new title (and his coronation) recalled the traditions of Charlemagne and the Roman emperors of antiquity. This was not an uncommon trend in Europe at the time- the same year, the title “Emperor of Austria” was proclaimed, and in 1801, it was even suggested in England that the King be granted the title “Emperor of the British Isles” instead. Across the oceans, the former French colony of Haiti named its leader (Jean-Jacques Dessalines) Emperor of Haiti. 

Distancing himself from the distasteful legacy of the old French monarchs, Napoleon emphasized his respect for the rights and happiness of his subjects and still referred to the nation as “the Republic” at his coronation. He also claimed that “to be a king is to inherit old ideas and genealogy. I don’t want to descend from anyone… The title of Emperor is greater.“ 

Viktor Vasnetsov’s illustrations for Alexander Pushkin’s “The Song of the Wise Oleg”:

Oleg, the wise Prince, roused to arm, 
Cried: “Vengeance on the ruthless horde 
Of raiding Chosars! Field and farm 
My men shall put to fire and sword!