2025/12/28 (Sun.) Telecom Day
2025/12/28 (Sun.) Telecom Day
The word telecommunication refers to the communication method of transmitting information by wire, radio or light. It originated from the wired telegraph and wired telephone invented in the 19th century. Now it has become a general term for communication systems that can transmit various signals such as images and sounds. In 1837, Britain invented the first practical wired telegraph system and applied for a patent. Two years later, the world's first commercial telegraph line was built.
Almost at the same time, American businessman Samuel F. B. Morse and physicist Joseph Henry also independently developed telegraph systems. Also in 1837, Morse's electromagnetic telegraph machine was patented in the United States, which is also the origin of Morse code. The telegraph can send and receive signals representing letters and numbers and has been widely used. In 1850, Britain laid the world's first submarine telegraph line in the English Channel, and in 1866, the submarine cable across the Atlantic was successfully laid.
In 1879, Li Hongzhang, an official of the Qing Dynasty, built a military telegraph line in China for the first time. In 1881, the military telegraph line from Dagu to Tianjin was extended southward to Shanghai and was also opened to the general public. It was completed on December 28, 1881.
To commemorate this day, in the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947), the Ministry of Communications designated December 28 of each year as "Telecommunications Day".
Administrative Unit:
Secretary's Office
Date:
2025/12/28
