History of Media Technology

First Working Telegraph

Oct 23, 1816

Media Timline

Period: Oct 23, 1816 to Oct 23, 2009

Morse Code Created

Oct 23, 1837

Morse Transmits first Morse Code Message

Oct 23, 1844

Atlantic Cable Created - first messages transported across Atlantic Ocean

Oct 23, 1845

Telegraph messaging adopted across England

Oct 23, 1845

Telegraph set up between England and France

Oct 23, 1850

Using a fleet of 2000 carrier pigeons and telegraph

Oct 23, 1851

Telegraph messages printed

Oct 23, 1856

San Francisco and France connected by telegraph

Oct 23, 1861

Telephone invented

Oct 23, 1861

Stock telegraph ticker invented

Oct 23, 1867

Bell invents the telephone (already invented previously)

Oct 23, 1876

Edison invents the phonograph

Aug 12, 1877

First telephone line laid

Oct 23, 1877

First phone book

Nov 23, 1878

Invention of radio

Oct 23, 1895

First Fax

Oct 23, 1901

First radio news broadcast

Aug 31, 1920

Regular television broadcasting

May 11, 1928

First practical tape recorder

Oct 23, 1935

First instance of mass hysteria created by the media (HG Wells War of the Worlds)

Oct 30, 1938

First record

Oct 23, 1948

Oldest known recordings of computer music

Nov 23, 1951

First computer animated film

Oct 23, 1961

First earth to satellite to earth transmission

Jun 10, 1962

Email begins

Oct 23, 1965

The @ in email was added

Oct 23, 1971

First word processor

Oct 23, 1976

Virtual Reality created

Oct 23, 1978

Digital Cellular Telephone

Oct 23, 1980

First scanner

Oct 23, 1982

First digital camera

Oct 23, 1989

More email was sent than paper mail

Oct 23, 1996

DVD's

Oct 23, 1996

MP3's

Oct 23, 1998

iPod

Oct 23, 2001

Apple opens iTunes store

Apr 28, 2003

Google buys You Tube

Oct 23, 2006

iPhone

Oct 23, 2007

XM Radio

Oct 23, 2008