Morse, Jedidiah

Jedidiah Morse, (born Aug. 23, 1761, Woodstock, Conn., U.S.—died June 9, 1826, New Haven, Conn.), American Congregational minister and geographer, who was the author of the first textbook on American geography published in the United States, Geography Made Easy (1784). His geographical writings dominated the field in the United States until his death.

While a young man teaching school in New Haven, Morse developed an interest in U.S. geography because, as he wrote, “so imperfect are all the accounts of America hitherto published . . . that from them very little knowledge of this country can be gained.” The success of Geography Made Easy (25 editions during his lifetime) encouraged him to produce the work that firmly established his reputation, The American Geography (1789), known in later editions as The American Universal Geography. This book was followed by a work for children, Elements of Geography (1795), The American Gazetteer (1797), and A New Gazetteer of the Eastern Continent (1802). The inventor Samuel F.B. Morse (1791–1872) was his eldest son.