Who invented the telegraph? In what year did this happen?

The emergence of telegraphs was a breakthrough in the development of technology. With its help, it was possible to transmit various signals and messages. In what year did they invent the telegraph? Who is its author? Learn about this in the article.

Origins

Man as a social being, always needed to communicate with his own kind. Back in ancient times, from the moment of uniting people into small groups, there was a need to create a signal system. She relayed the message, warning of the danger.

So, one of the oldest ways of signal transmission is sound. About the approach of enemies warned, imitating the sounds of wildlife, for example, chirping of birds, screams of an owl. Sounds were also published with the help of a horn or musical instruments. Another effective means of transmitting a signal is fire. He and in our time can come in handy, lost in the depths of forests to tourists.

As society developed, a more effective and innovative way of signaling was required. And he appeared. Next, try to figure out who invented the telegraph. The concept of telegraph means a means of transmitting a signal over communication channels. Such channels can be radio waves or wires. The name of the term was formed from the words of the ancient Greek language - tele and grapho, which translates as "far" and "write". The terms "telephone" and "telex" have a similar origin.

Who invented the telegraph first?

The first telegraph was optical. It is not exactly known who invented the telegraph. Printed articles about this mechanism began to appear quite early. But among those who invented the telegraph, certainly is the English scientist Guk. He demonstrated his device as far back as 1684. At the core of the mechanism were moving rulers and circles that were visible from long distances.

The heliograph was used as an optical telegraph. It was first established in 1778 between the observatories of Greenwich and Paris. Usually the heliograph was located on a tripod, and inside it was a small mirror. The signal was transmitted by means of flashes of light, which were obtained when the device was tilted. The author of this device is difficult to name, but the invention enjoyed popularity among the military even in the XIX century.

Semaphore

In 1792 the Frenchman Claude Chapp invented an optical telegraph, reminiscent of the mechanism of a heliograph. The signal was transmitted thanks to the light emitted by the semaphore. Several identical tall buildings were located within sight of each other. On them were semaphores and people controlling them.

Already in 1794, on the way from Paris to Lille, 22 stations with semaphores were installed. The transmission of one signal took about 2 minutes. Such a signal transmission system has become very popular. Soon other stations were built. The signal was transmitted much more accurately than the beacon and smoke signal.

Chapp invented a special code system. On the semaphore horizontally placed bars. Expanding or joining, they formed a certain figure, each of which corresponded to the letter of the alphabet. In one minute, you could pass on two words.

Electrical Telegraph

At the end of the XVIII century, researchers and inventors study the properties of electricity. There is an idea to apply it to the telegraph as well. In 1774 Georg Lesage created the first electrostatic telegraph. Later, Samuel Semmering invented an electrochemical mechanism, with gas bubbles inside.

In 1832 Paul Schilling became the one who invented the electromagnetic telegraph. On the silk threads, five magnetic arrows were suspended, which moved inside coils wound with wire. The current direction determined the side to which the magnetic needle moved. You could send both letters and numbers.

Immediately after Schilling, a number of identical inventions came from the Germans Gauss and Weber, the English Cook and Watson. But the patent for the electromagnetic telegraph went to Samuel Morse, since it was not a dial, but a mechanical type. Later, the inventor came up with a well-known worldwide signal code - the Morse code.

Phototelegraph

A physicist from Scotland advanced immediately several steps forward. Alexander Bain was the first to invent a telegraph capable of transmitting images. The device appeared in 1843 and was called "phototelegraph." He is rightly considered the progenitor of a fax.

The Italian Caselli creates an apparatus similar to Baine's invention and begins mass production. A special lacquer passed the image or drawing on the lead foil. The machine read the elements and transferred them on paper electrochemically. The later models of phototelegraphs were used even for the production of geographical maps.

Wireless Telegraph

In 1895, an absolutely new type of telegraph was called in Russia, called a "thunderstorm". Who invented the wireless telegraph? The author of the invention was the famous scientist Alexander Popov. The main task of the mechanism was to register radio waves that produce a thunderstorm front.

In fact, it was the world's first radio receiver. Improving the model of the first "thunderstorm", it was possible to achieve that the signal, encrypted with Morse code, was transmitted directly to the headphones to the receiving side. The Popov device was successfully used for communication between ships and the shore. He found wide application in military affairs.

A new era

A new stage in the development of telegraphs came in 1872, after Jean Bodo's invention of a start-stop telegraph. Thanks to him, it became possible to transmit several messages to one side at once.

In 1930, the Bodo apparatus was supplemented with dials on the disks. They were similar to the usual drives for dialing on old phones. Now it was possible to specify the subscriber to whom the message was intended. Such a device was called "telex". In many countries of the world, national subscriber systems for telegraphy have been created. Such networks have appeared, for example, in Germany, Great Britain, the USA.

At present, telegraph communication still exists. But, of course, innovative technologies have long replaced it in place of "retro systems".