1843: The world's first Christmas cards are sent out by Henry Cole, a director of a London museum.

Today: Millions of Christmas cards are sent out each year by families and business, but many people are replacing paper cards with animated Internet cards.

1843: The squalid courts and cheap food shops of a London area dubbed "Porridge Island" are cleared away for a development area called Trafalgar Square, in honor of Lord Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Today: Trafalgar Square is one of London's main tourist attractions; unfortunately, it is also famous for its enormous pigeon population.

1843: Samuel B. Morse begins construction of a telegraph wire between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore using money appropriated by Congress.

Today: Telephone communication is instantaneous, but millions of miles of wires are being replaced with fiber-optic cables for even quicker Internet transmission.

1843: Documents are copied by hand...