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The telegraph and .... the Queen! 
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The telegraph and …. the Queen! 

The "adventures" of the telegraph in Greece

As we know from the history books, the telegraph came to Greece in 1859 with the launch of the first submarine cables that connected Piraeus with Ermoupolis of Syros, the largest port in the Eastern Mediterranean at that time. However, the historical research of the Telecommunications Museum of OTE Group has discovered a hitherto unknown source for the history of the telegraph in Greece.

According to the biography of Samuel Morse, an American businessperson, Chamberlain had held an official demonstration of the new invention in Athens in January 1839, in the presence of King Otto, Queen Amalia, and prominent Athenians. The telegraph caused great admiration among the public, but it was not possible to conclude a commercial agreement. The electric telegraph was in its early stages and had not been established as an international telecommunications medium (different systems were used in France, Great Britain, and Germany), while electricity had not yet reached Greece.

“In this poor country you can only gain fame,” Chamberlain wrote to his friend Samuel Morse in 1839. Moreover, he added in his letter, “The small and cute queen was thrilled with the telegraph. During the demonstration, the thread holding the weight broke and almost fell on the toes of his Majesty. Fortunately, it failed, so we escaped from prison.” Telecommunications in Greece started in an adventurous way!

Source: Samuel Ireneus Prime, The Life of Samuel Morse, inventor of the Electro-Magnetic Recording Telegraph, New York 1875, σ. 411. 

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