Episode 94: The Herrmann telegraph
The Herrmann telegraph was made almost entirely in Portugal, at the end of the 19th century, and made a decisive contribution to real-time communication in the country. The device printed Morse codes on a very narrow paper tape, without requiring the presence of people decoding messages on site. It would be installed in post offices all over the country, after its creation by Maximiliano Augusto Herrmann. One of these telegraphs is exhibited in the Faraday Museum, at Técnico – Alameda campus. It is in full operation, showing visitors the mechanisms that brought people closer together when long-distance communication in real time was still almost a mirage.
- Acknowledgements:
Albano Inácio dos Santos
Moisés Piedade
Episode only available in Portuguese in: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Anchor.fm
Further reading and additional audio in the Portuguese version of this webpage.