Saturday, December 17, 2011

A Short History of the US Post Office

The Dec. 19th Time Magazine had an article about the problems facing the post office.

They also had a table of dates in its history:

1775 The Continental Congress appoints Benjamin Franklin the first Postmaster General.

1825 A new dead-letter office deals with undeliverable mail.

1847 An act of Congress leads to the issue of the first US postage stamp. It features George Washington.

1860 The Post office relies on the Pony Express to get mail to and from California.

1906 Baltimore becomes the first city to use an automobile to collect mail.

1925 Charles Lindbergh is hired to fly mail from St. Louis to Chicago-- just two years before his famous transatlantic flight.

1963 Zip Codes are introduced.

1986 The first in a series of massacres by Postal Service employees that would inspire the expression "going postal."

2007 The Post Office launches the "forever" stamp.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered, I'm Yours. --DaCoot

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