Chronology of Communication in the United States

The history of communication in the United States is linked to the ongoing development of electronics in the United States. The country started out with the usual communication tools of speech, writing, and books. The telegraph, which is now a part of history more than an active part of the present, was the first milestone in moving from conventional communication forms to electronic communication. It is almost a direct line from the telegraph to the telephone, and thence to movies, phonograph records, and radio and television broadcasting. The invention of the transistor in 1948, and the development of semiconductor manufacturing that followed, enabled new communication tools such as communication satellites, fiber optics, cell phones and LEOS, the personal computer, and the internet, to be built. This chronology spans 1673 to 2004. Also included are appendices covering such topics as the electromagnetic spectrum; growth of United States cell phone subscribers; worldwide growth of cell phone subscribers compared to main telephone lines; radiotelegraphy compared to radiotelephony; and transistors, integrated circuits and microprocessors.