In 2013, the world's last telegram was sent in India. It was the last major country to shut down telegram service. India's 163-year-old telegram service was no longer needed, as e-mail and texting had replaced bicycle telegram messengers. In Great Britain, telegram delivery ceased in 2008, while the U.S., Western Union's dwindling service was terminated 27 Jan 2006. The first formal telegram was sent by Samuel Morse in Washington to his business partner Alfred Vail in Baltimore, on 24 May 1844. Seeking funding, he demonstrated to Congress the power of telegraphy through wires connecting cities with the message, “What hath God wrought.” In time, wires were strung across the U.S. and other countries, which eventually were connected by a Transatlantic cable under the ocean and more submarine cables.« The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph, by Tom Standage. - book suggestion.