History of Telegraphy

A dominating theme of the 21st Century will be the transmission and processing of information as the global network of communication channels continues to develop. The emergence of today's digital communications technology owes much to the growth of telegraphy in the 19th and 20th Centuries. The realisation of cheap long-distance communication using telegraphy stimulated the initial design and development of coded transmissions that proved vital in both World Wars for use on land, sea, and in the air. Methods of data compaction, coding and encryption in modern communication systems all have their origins in the techniques used by the telegraph pioneers. In fact the two main phases of telegraph development - cable-based techniques that began in the early 19th Century and wireless transmission in the 20th Century - parallel the changes in voice and information communications seen recently.