300+ BC
Sumerians and Phoenicians invent writing
105 AD
Paper invented in China
1843
Long distance electric telegraph begins
1969
ARPANET (internet’s forerunner) established
1991
World Wide Web begins
900
China institutes world’s first postal service
868
First surviving printed book (China)
1876
Telephone first demonstrated
1972
First e-mail sent using “@” in address
1992
First text message sent
776
Homing pigeons deliver news from Olympic Games to Athens
1450
Printing press with moveable metal type makes mass communication possible
1920
First commercial radio broadcast
1973
First cell phone call
1994
Personal blogging begins
300
World’s first great library established in Alexandria, Egypt
1605
First newspaper printed in Germany
1936
London Television Service begins regular broadcasts
1975
World’s first microcomputer, the Altair 8800 goes on sale
1996
Instant messaging begins
200
Fire signals and human messengers relay messages across Egypt and China
1620
Spain develops sign language
1963
First communications satellite launched
1981
IBM announces its first personal computer