{{Short description|American journalist (1852–1903)}} {{distinguish|Samuel Morse|Samuel S. Morss}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Samuel Morss | image = Samuel E. Morss (1852–1903).png | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1852|12|15}} | birth_place = Fort Wayne, Indiana, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1903|10|21|1852|12|15}} | death_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, US | burial_place = | occupation = Journalist | awards = | father = Samuel S. Morss | mother = | spouse = | children = | education = | signature = | party = }} '''Samuel E. Morss''' (December 15, 1852 – October 21, 1903) was an American journalist, the co-founder with William Rockhill Nelson of ''The Kansas City Star'' newspaper and later owner and editor of the ''Indianapolis Sentinel''.<ref name="Awang">{{cite web |url=https://www.ijhf.org/members/1966/samuel-e-morss |last=Awang |first=Haroon Haji |title=Samuel E. Morss 1966 |website=Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame |date=28 January 1966 |access-date=June 22, 2024}} This source incorrectly gives the date of Morss' death as October 20, 1903.</ref>
== Biography == Morss was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the son of Samuel S. Morss, who later served as Mayor of Fort Wayne.<ref name="Awang"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cityoffortwayne.org/meet-the-mayor/fort-wayne-mayors.html |title=Fort Wayne Mayors |department=Meet the Mayor |publisher=City of Fort Wayne |access-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-date=January 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121202715/https://cityoffortwayne.org/meet-the-mayor/fort-wayne-mayors.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He and Nelson purchased the ''Ft. Wayne Sentinel'' in 1879. In 1880 they sold the ''Sentinel'' and founded ''The Kansas City Star''. Health problems forced Morss to sell his interest in the newspaper to Nelson and travel to Europe.<ref name="Awang"/>
Morss worked at ''The Chicago Times'' from 1883 to 1887. On February 1, 1888, Morss purchased the ''Indianapolis Sentinel'' and became its editor. He was elected chairman of the Indiana delegation to the 1892 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. In April 1893, U.S. President Grover Cleveland appointed him as Consul-General of the United States to France. He remained in that post until 1897, when he returned to work full time at the ''Sentinel''.<ref name="Awang"/>
On October 21, 1903, Morss fell {{Convert|30|ft}} from his third-floor office window onto the sidewalk on Illinois Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. He died on the operating table at St. Vincent's Hospital. The fall was believed to be accidental, possibly caused by a heart attack.<ref name="Awang"/><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Indianapolis Journal |title=S. E. Morss Falls to Death. His Body Plunges from Window in Private Office to the Sidewalk Thirty Feet Below. End is Almost Instant. Mr. Morss Expires on Operating Table in St. Vincent's Hospital. Frightful Accident Seen by Several Who Believe He Lost His Balance in the Window. Life Story of Energy. High Character and Ability Led to Political Success. Men Who Knew Him Intimately Express Profound Appreciation of Mr. Morss—Funeral at Ft. Wayne. |url=https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=IJ19031022.1.1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- |date=October 22, 1903 |volume=53 |issue=295 |at=Page 1, columns 6–7 |access-date=January 27, 2022 |via=Hoosier State Chronicles}}</ref>
Morss was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in the class of 1966.<ref name="Awang"/>
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morss, Samuel}} Category:1852 births Category:1903 deaths Category:Accidental deaths from falls in the United States Category:Accidental deaths in Indiana Category:Cleveland administration personnel Category:Editors of Indiana newspapers Category:Indiana Democrats Category:19th-century American diplomats Category:19th-century American newspaper editors Category:20th-century American newspaper editors Category:Journalists from Chicago Category:People from Fort Wayne, Indiana Category:People from Indianapolis Category:20th-century American male journalists