2667: International Morse Code Apr 6, 2022

There were lots of innovations that helped to spread Morse code, such as moving from paper to sound which speeds up comprehension and the switch from cables to radio waves, which originally could not transmit voices. Beyond that however, the real driver for the system's success was its early, wide adoption, such as at the 1851 Vienna conference which made it standard for many Central European countries, and even earlier when it was adopted among American railroads—eventually adopted broadly in America—in the two decades preceding the Civil War. That said, International Morse code (made by Friedrich Gerke) is different to American Morse code, and was influenced by the system already in place with the Hamburg railways. This standardized the length of dashes, which were somewhat variable in American Morse code, as well as adding in special characters not used for English.