Electrical telegraph

The electrical telegraph is a telegraph that uses electric signals. This is a signalling system where an operator makes and breaks an electrical contact with a telegraph key which results in an audible signal at the other end produced by a telegraph sounder which is interpreted and transcribed by a human operator.

Types of electrical telegraphs

Gauss-Weber telegraph and Carl Steinheil

Carl Friedrich Gauss and Wilhelm Weber installed a 1,200m long wire above the town of Göttingen's roofs. They were allowed to do this on 6 May 1833. Carl August Steinheil was able to build a telegraph network in 1835–1836. He installed a telegraph line along the first German railroad in 1835.

Schilling telegraph

The telegraph had a transmitting device which had a keyboard with 16 black-and-white keys. These served for switching the electric current.

Alter and the Elderton Telegraph

Dr. David Alter created it one year before the much more popular Morse telegraph was invented. Alter demonstrated it publicly.

Morse telegraphs

In the United States, the telegraph was developed by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail. Morse created an electrical telegraph in 1837. His version was a design that could transmit over long distances using poor quality wire. Vail, his assistant, developed the Morse code signalling alphabet with Morse.

The Americas' first telegram, transmitted via a repeater: "What hath God wrought" sent by Samuel F.B. Morse in 1844

Related pages

• Telegraph

Other websites

• 1837 AD Samuel Morse Invents the Electric Telegraph
• The Electric Telegraph (1838–1914)
• Electrical telegraph Archived 2007-03-09 at the Wayback Machine