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French inventor Claude Chappe and his brothers first demonstrated the semaphore telegraph, a system to convey information by means of visual signals, using towers with pivoting crossarms.

Historical image related to French inventor Claude Chappe and his brothers first demonstrated the semaphore telegraph, a system to convey information by means of visual signals, using towers with pivoting crossarms. from March 2, 1791

Claude Chappe

Late 18th-century French inventor

Claude Chappe was a French inventor who in 1792 demonstrated a practical semaphore system that eventually spanned all of France. His system consisted of a series of towers, each within line of sight of others, each supporting a wooden mast with two crossarms on pivots that could…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Optical telegraph

Tower-based signaling network

An optical telegraph is a line of stations, typically towers, for the purpose of conveying textual information by means of visual signals. There are two main types of such systems: the semaphore telegraph which uses pivoted indicator arms and conveys information according to the…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)