Communications Firsts Quiz

Question: What was the name of the first prepaid postage stamp used in England?

Answer: In 1840 the “penny black” became the first prepaid postage stamp used in England.

Question: Who developed the first machine that could read printed text and produce a synthesized speech output?

Answer: Ray Kurzweil developed the first text-to-speech machine, which could read printed text and produce a synthesized speech output.

Question: What was the first continuously published newspaper in the American colonies?

Answer: The Boston News-Letter, first released on April 24, 1704, was the first continually published newspaper in the American colonies.

Question: Who invented the stereoscope, a device for observing pictures in three dimensions?

Answer: Sir Charles Wheatstone invented the stereoscope, a device for observing pictures in three dimensions, in 1838.

Question: Who founded the first film production company in France, which created more than 400 films from 1896 to 1913?

Answer: In 1896 the French filmmaker Georges Méliès founded the first film production company in France, which would create over 400 films from 1896 to 1913 and become the first to put fictional narratives on film.

Question: Who discovered the Rosetta Stone near Alexandria, Egypt, in 1799?

Answer: A Frenchman named Bouchard or Boussard discovered the Rosetta Stone 35 miles northeast of Alexandria, Egypt, in 1799.

Question: Which Canadian inventor made the first radio broadcast?

Answer: Canadian inventor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden made the first radio broadcast, from Massachusetts to Scotland, on December 24, 1906. His feat is widely regarded as the start of AM radio.

Question: Who patented a photographic “film” that used gel spread over paper?

Answer: In 1884 George Eastman patented a photographic “film” that used gel spread over paper.

Question: What is the name of the first passive communications satellite, launched into orbit by the United States in 1960?

Answer: On August 12, 1960, Echo 1 became the first passive communications satellite launched into orbit by the United States.

Question: Who was the first to make a permanent photographic image?

Answer: In 1826/27 Joseph-Nicéphore Niépce became the first to make a permanent photographic image, using a camera obscura to capture an image of Paris.

Question: Who coined the term microphone?

Answer: In 1827 Sir Charles Wheatstone coined the term microphone for an amplifying acoustic device.

Question: Where was the first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica published?

Answer: The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica was published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768.

Question: Which Scottish physicist used the principle of echolocation to develop radar?

Answer: In 1935 Scottish physicist Robert Alexander Watson-Watt used the principle of echolocation to develop radar.

Question: Who produced the first commercially successful typewriter?

Answer: Christopher Latham Sholes produced the first commercially successful typewriter, in 1867.

Question: Who was the Scottish engineer to first televise pictures of objects in motion?

Answer: Scottish engineer John Logie Baird was the first to televise pictures of objects in motion.

Question: What is the name of the world’s lightest and smallest wearable phone, produced by Motorola, Inc., in 1996?

Answer: The StarTac, produced by Motorola, Inc., in 1996, was the world’s lightest and smallest wearable phone.

Question: Who patented the first single-lens reflex camera?

Answer: In 1861 Thomas Sutton patented the first single-lens reflex camera, in England.

Question: Who made a public demonstration of instant photography in 1947?

Answer: Edwin Herbert Land made a public demonstration of instant photography in 1947 and introduced the Polaroid Land Camera to the public for sale the following year.

Question: What is the name of the active communications satellite that allowed the first exchange of television programs between the United States and Europe?

Answer: Telstar 1 was an active communications satellite that in 1962 allowed the first exchange of television programs between the United States and Europe.