The first documented use of an organized courier service for mail delivery dates back to Ancient Egypt around 2400 BCE. Pharaohs utilized couriers to send decrees throughout their territory. The oldest surviving piece of mail, a papyrus document, is also Egyptian and dates to 255 BCE.
While organized postal systems were used by governments and rulers for centuries, the concept of a public postal service for citizens developed over time in various parts of the world. Key moments in the history of mail include:
- Ancient Persia (c. 550 BCE): King Cyrus the Great is credited with establishing a sophisticated courier system with post-houses and relay riders, which was later improved by Darius the Great to facilitate communication across the vast Achaemenid Empire.
- Ancient China (c. 1111-255 BCE): The Chou dynasty had a postal system that was known for its efficiency.
- Ancient Rome (c. 20 BCE): The Roman Empire developed the cursus publicus, a state-run courier and transportation service for official use, based on the Persian model.
- 17th Century Europe: Private and public postal services for general use began to emerge. In 1653, Jean-Jacques Renouard de Villayer established a local postal system in Paris with pre-paid envelopes and mailboxes.
- 18th and 19th Centuries: The modern postal system as we know it began to take shape with the invention of the postage stamp by Rowland Hill in 1837 in Great Britain. This invention made it possible and practical to prepay postage. The U.S. Postal Service was formally established in 1775, with Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General.