The fax machine was first patented in 1843
Although the fax machine is pretty much obsolete today, its invention greatly simplified long-distance communications. The fax machine has allowed people to be able to send documents to each other almost instantly, without having to depend on the slower form of snail mail.
It is a much older invention than we may think. Alexander Bain filed the first patent for a fax machine back in 1843. To give some perspective, that was the same year that the first major wagon train of pioneers set out on the Oregon Trail in search of a better future.