Telegraphy

The telegraph was the internet of the 19th century, allowing information to be passed across land and sea quickly and easily.  In an era of slower transport (no cars or planes) it was how news was passed around the world, and how families received information quickly.  A letter from the Crimea could take up to three weeks to reach Britain in 1856, whereas a telegram could carry the same news in hours.  See: http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/telegraph.htm for a history of a system since superceded by the mobile phone and electronic communication such as e-mail.