Claude Chappe in the late 1700s, after experimenting without success in using electricity to send messages, invented a simpler method.Synchronized clocks, numbered dictionaries as code books, a casserole dish.
In an improved design Chappe replaced the audible signal with a visible one - a pivoting wooden panel, five feet tall, pained black on one side and white on the other. By flipping it from one colour to the other, Chappe could transmit the numbers on the synchronized clocks. A telescope could help to see the wooden panel from a great distance.
On March 2, 1791 sent a message 10 miles away. In about 4 minutes they transmitted the phrase: "If you succeed, you will bask in glory."
Chappe named his device the "telegraph."
In a new design, the wooden panel was replaced by rotating arms on the ends of a longer rotating bar. The different positions of the arms signified different letters and numbers.
In 1793 Chappe managed to attract the attention of members of the National Convention to his device. A larger experiment involving three stations spanning 20 miles was sponsored.
The attraction of the device for the French Republic consisted in its potential to transmit administrative orders from the central government to the provinces and thus hold the republic together.
New lines were built (15-station line from Paris to Lille, spanning 130 miles) and military applications were soon discovered.
Napoleon Bonaparte (seizing the power in 1799) appreciated the telegraph and used for military purposes.
A British version of the telegraph, ordered by the Admiralty, was developed in 1795. It used 6 wooden shutters capable of giving 64 different combinations.
Chappe suggested a European network relaying commodity prices between Paris and Amsterdam, Gádiz and even London. He also proposed a state-sanctioned daily national news bulletin. Napoleon only agreed on weekly transmission of winning national lottery numbers.
In Canada, the first optical telegraph line was set up in Nova Scotia in 1794 by Prince Edward. The purpose of the system was to provide warnings of any danger that might arise from the new republic to the south.
