House, Royal

House, Royal (Earl)

(1814–95) inventor; born in Rockland, Vt. Raised in Pennsylvania, he had no formal education but showed great mechanical aptitude at an early age. In 1844, after several years of effort, he perfected a telegraph that printed out messages in the alphabet; improved Morse systems gradually superseded his printing telegraphs during the 1850s. He later designed efficient glass insulators.