360What happened in 1838?
2 moments from 1838 on 360n60, each told in 60 words or fewer.
- On this day · 6 January 1838
Morse and Vail first demonstrate the electric telegraph
On 6 January 1838, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail demonstrated their electric telegraph at the Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown, New Jersey, sending a message through 3 km of wire. Their system of dots and dashes, Morse code, later carried news and messages across continents within minutes.
- 1838 · from Robert Fulton's steamboat opens a new era of travel
Regular transatlantic steamship service begins