The Fax Machine Is Older Than the Telephone

A fax machine was patented in 1843, more than 30 years before the telephone’s 1876 patent.

A Scottish clockmaker worked out how to send images over telegraph wires using synchronized pendulums. The technology took a long time to catch on, but the idea came well before anyone called anybody.

Check it yourself

Search the history of the facsimile and compare the dates with the 1876 telephone patent.