Telegraphy
Postal telegraph messengers in the 1930s. Image Source: Wikipedia
The idea of long-distance communication predates the cell phone and even the internet. As soon as people started traveling long distances, the thought of a more immediate method to communicate with loved ones back home became more and more enticing.
This idea came to fruition in 1823, when Francis Ronalds constructed an electrostatic telegraph spanning eight miles of wire. Insulated in glass tubing, Ronalds laid down the wire and connected both ends to clocks marked with the letters of the alphabet. Electrical impulses sent along the wire transmitted messages. While Ronalds’ invention was acknowledged when he published an account of it, years would pass before the technology truly flourished.
While this ultimately helped give rise to Morse Code, it would take the work of another “no name” to bring the technology one step closer to life. In 1832, a Russian diplomat named Pavel Schilling devised a small telegraph system that could send a message using the binary system of transmissions. The problem for Schilling was length—he could only transmit messages between two rooms in his small St. Petersburg apartment. While Schilling’s idea didn’t take off, he was the first person to ever use the binary system, later be used to develop Morse Code, which was born in the U.S. in 1838.
