1835: Joseph Henry invents first electric telegraph
1844: Using his new code, Samuel Morse sends the first telegraph message, “What hath God wrought?” between D.C. and Baltimore
1858: Construction of the first transatlantic telegraph cable completed
1876: Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
1881: First Yellow Pages published
1887: First coin-operated telephone installed in the Hartford Bank by the pay phone’s inventor, William Gray
1889: Almon Strowger invents the first direct dial, bypassing the need for manual switching
1895: Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi develops the first successful long-distance wireless telegraph, using radio waves