A great invention that revolutionized the postal industry during the nineteenth century in Britain was the invention of the postage stamp. It’s not something one would usually think about, since these days we don’t even have to lick the backs of stamps anymore—but before Sir Rowland Hill introduced pre-paid postage, it was the person receiving the letter who had to pay for its delivery. In Britain, the postal service was a means by Parliament used to collect taxes from the people. However, in 1837, Rowland Hill printed Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicability. This pamphlet brought on major controversy, as well as revolutionizing how the mail deliveries operated up to current times.
The post offices of Britain opposed the introduction of the pre-paid postage stamp, most likely thinking that they would lose money. The Parliament opposed the stamp, as well, considering the difficulties of censoring what people sent to each other and worrying about such catastrophes as espionage and plots to overthrow the government. And the rest of Britain’s government throughout the state opposed the new means of postage fearing that there would be a lack of service in particular areas of the country (Headrick, 193).
However, it was the people who won the battle. The parliament was approached with petitions including up to four million signatures from the British public. Hill’s reform was passed in December of 1839, and penny postage usage began on January 1, 1840. It was a day that revolutionized the post offices, not only in Britain, but also both the American and French postal services (Headrick, 192,3). January 1, 1840 was also a day that opened the doors to communication forever. With the influx of letters going through the post offices, the government was less and less able to keep surveillance on what was being sent. Therefore, people felt more secure about sending mail, and postal service usage was booming for the first time. Since that time, Sir Rowland Hill has been referred to by many as “the father of the modern post office.”
The dates and statistics came from Headrick’s, When Information Came of Age.