2016-01-06 Wed

On this day, 6th January in 1837, Samuel Morse’s telegraph system was demonstrated for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey.

The telegraph is a device which uses electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire. This revolutionized the long-distance communication and reached the peak of popularity in the mid 1900s.

Samuel Morse’s electrical telegraph was capable of transmitting over long distances using wire. He along with his assistant, Alfred Vail developed the Morse code signalling alphabets in which dots and dashes represented letters and numbers.

America’s first telegram was sent by Morse on 6 January 1838, across two miles (3 km) of wire at Speedwell Ironworks near Morristown, New Jersey. The message read "A patient waiter is no loser."

India's telegram service began in 1850, when the first telegram was sent from the eastern city of Calcutta to Diamond Harbour, a southern suburb nearly 25 miles from the city centre.

India Post has issued two commemorative stamps of denomination 2 Annas in 1951 to celebrate the centenary of the introduction of the Telegram services in India.