The history of the telegraph

Sir William Cooke and Sir Charles Wheatstone

1830

These were the inventors of the telegraph with needles. This consisted of 5 magnetic needles which would direct the letter and number based on where you pushed the button.

Morse Code

1838

This year Samuel Morse created a system of communication known as the Morse Code. This was used to send more accurate telegrams.

Electromagnetic telegraph

1838

This is the year an electromagnetic telegraph was patented and approved. It successfully used Morse Code and only ran on one line.

The first long distance telegraph

1843

In this year a successful telegraph was built from Washington D.C. to Baltimore.

Convincing Congress

1843

Morse was successful with convincing Congress to grant him money to be able to create a telegraph that could communicate over a longer distance. They granted him $30,000 for a 50-mile test.

The first telegram

May 24, 1844

The first telegram was sent from Washington D.C. to Baltimore and it read "What hath God Wrought".

telegraph lines extension

1846

The telegraph lines are extended from Baltimore to Philadelphia. In the same year, multiple telegraph companies showed up across the line. This line was connected from New York to Washington D.C., Boston, and Buffalo.

Train departures

1851

This was the first year the telegraph was used to coordinate train departures.