Ericsson Nikola Tesla Donates Valuable Historical Telegraph Set to the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla
July 10, 2026
To mark the 170th anniversary of Nikola Tesla’s birth, Ericsson Nikola Tesla has donated a valuable and authentic telegraph set dating from the turn of the 20th century to the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla, further enriching the Telegraphy and Telephony Collection and the permanent exhibition Communication Odyssey.
The donation consists of a Morse-type ink telegraph manufactured by the renowned Vienna-based company Leopolder & Sohn, one of the most prominent producers of telegraph and telephone equipment in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The set includes a receiver, a telegraph key, a sounder for receiving messages by ear, a line milliammeter for monitoring current strength in the telegraph line, and a telegraph line switchboard. Together, these components illustrate the essential equipment required for transmitting, receiving and monitoring telegraph traffic at a time when telecommunications began connecting people, cities and nations in previously unimaginable ways.
The donation carries particular symbolic significance for Ericsson Nikola Tesla. The company, which has spent decades developing advanced communication and digital solutions while actively contributing to the technological transformation of society, bears in its name the legacy of one of the world’s greatest innovators. Preserving technological heritage and promoting knowledge about the development of communication technologies are part of the company’s responsibility to the community, as well as a tribute to the pioneers whose inventions laid the foundations of today’s digital world.
“From the telegraph to artificial intelligence, technology has always been a driving force in connecting people, ideas and progress. As a company that bears Nikola Tesla’s name and is helping shape the future of communications, we are committed to preserving valuable testimonies to technological development and making them accessible to the wider public and future generations,” said Siniša Krajnović, PhD, President of the Management Board of Ericsson Nikola Tesla.
This year also marks another important telecommunications milestone: the 150th anniversary of the first official Croatian patent granted to Ferdinand Kovačević, a pioneer of Croatian telegraphy. Like Nikola Tesla, Kovačević was born in Smiljan, and his patent for introducing duplex connection enabled the simultaneous transmission of multiple messages over the same conductor, representing a significant technological breakthrough of its time.
It is also worth recalling that telegraphy marked the beginning of modern communications in Croatia. The first Croatian telegram, sent from Zagreb, was received in Vienna by governor Josip Jelačić as early as 1850. Telegraph devices such as this one remained in use from the second half of the 19th century until the period following the Second World War, and in some locations for considerably longer.
The donated telegraph set is therefore not merely a museum exhibit, but also a valuable reminder of the evolution of communication technologies, from Morse code recorded on paper tape to today’s global digital networks. This unbroken chain of innovation connects the pioneers of telecommunications with today’s creators of the digital future, among whom Ericsson Nikola Tesla holds an important place.
The Technical Museum Nikola Tesla expressed its gratitude to Ericsson Nikola Tesla for this valuable donation, which will provide visitors with an even richer insight into the history of communications and the technological advancements that have shaped the modern world.
