Telegraph
| Beginnings |
| 1677 Robert Hooks (British) |
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| 1820 Charles Wheatstone (British) |
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| 1831 Michael Faraday (British) |
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| A communication need: |
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"telegraphy"
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| 1837 first working system |
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| a key implication - the link between communication and transportation |
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| AMERICA |
| 1825 Samuel Morse (a starving artist!) |
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| 1830s trip to Europe |
| 1840 Morse gets a patent (2) |
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| How finance? (3) |
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1844 test line from Washington DC to Baltimore |
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| first message - "What hath God wrought" |
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| the King of Moab had hired Balaam to curse Israel |
| God told Balaam to bless Israel instead. |
| Balaam says "according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, what hath God wrought." (KJV) |
| (see what God has done) (NIV) |
| today, the idea of cursing and blessing still applies in a media context! |
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| Morse offers the telegraph to the federal government |
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| by 1851, approximately 50 companies were involved in telegraphy in the United States |
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| 1856 Western Union formed |
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| 1861 first East-West line |
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| role - informing |
| philosophy - commercial enterprise, common carrier |
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| by mid 1860s, only Western Union and Morse left (6) |
| January 27th, 2006 Western Union delivered its last telegram |
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| OTHER DEVELOPMENTS |
| late 1840s - wire services form (Associated Press) |
| 1850 - first underwater cable (English Channel) |
| 1858 - first transatlantic cable (US and England) |
| 1865 - International Telegraph Union forms (ITU) |
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| DIFFUSION |
| East to West |
| urban to rural |
| upper class to middle and lower class |
| country to country |