Nearly every invention is intended to improve the lives of those who use it. And most do. However, few have had as much impact on modern society as those related to communication.

These days, with a computer in every classroom and people roaming the streets chatting on cell phones or sending text messages to one another, life without modern communication devices seems like ancient history. And yet, the telegraph, the first means of delivering private messages over great distances, originated only a little over 150 years ago.

Since the invention of the telegraph in 1844, communication innovations have had several different objectives. In some cases, they have replicated sounds or images. Others have broadened a message's audience. For example, the cylinder printing press, invented in 1846, and the web offset printing press, invented in 1865, allowed newspapers to be produced by the thousands, rather than by the hundreds. Radio and television broadcasts -- first conducted in 1906 and 1927 respectively - could reach even more people at greater distances than was feasible for a daily newspaper, and they could do so much faster.

Another objective served by communication inventions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was an increase in the speed with which information could be delivered. Long before radio and television broadcasts, the telephone revolutionized communication between individuals. No longer did important messages have to wait days or weeks; they could be discussed immediately.

Today, both the speed with which messages can be transferred and the quantity of data that can be transmitted in a given time continue to rise rapidly and dramatically.