The World's First Fax Machine in 1857

Invented in 1857, and called a “pantelegraph”, Italian Giovanni Caselli was a priest who thought that telegraphs could also reproduce pictures. His device recognized ink on the page to be copied, causing a signal to write at the other end. It took six years to perfect, and consisted of pendulums, wires, and batteries. By 1868, it was sending over 100 faxes per hour. After the Prussian invasion of 1870, it ceased to be operated, and wasn’t thought necessary until over a hundred years later! (By the way, “fax” stands for facsimile, which some think means “fax a mile”!)