This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Timeline of postal history" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This is a partialtimeline of significantevents in postal history, includingdates and events relating topostage stamps.

• Chapar Khaneh, the state-run courier (and transportation) service of the Persian Empire was established byCyrus the Great, and later developed byDarius the Great as the royal method of communication throughout the empire.^[1]

• Cursus publicus, the state-run courier (and transportation) service of the Roman Empire was established byAugustus based onChapar Khaneh of the Persians.

• 1516 -Henry VIII established a "Master of the Posts"^[2]
• 1520 -Manuel I creates the public mail service of Portugal, the Correio Público-Public Post Office^[3]
• 1558 18 October -Sigismund II Augustus establishedPoczta Polska, a postal service of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.^[4]

• 1635 31 July -Charles I made theRoyal Mail service available to the public for the first time with postage being paid by the recipient.^[5]
• 1660 -General Post Office established inEngland byCharles II.^[6]
• 1680 - The firstpenny post system, known as theLondon Penny Post, for local delivery was introduced byWilliam Dockwra in London.^[7]

• 1775 - TheContinental Congress appointsBenjamin Franklin to be the firstUnited States Postmaster General^[8]
• 1792 20 February - The USPostal Service Act establishes theUnited States Post Office Department.^[9]

• 1821 - Carlo Meratti, an Italian, living in Alexandria, establishes a post office to send and receive mail to and from foreign countries.^[10]
• 1825 - The US establishes adead letter office.^[11]

• 1830 – Firstmail train inUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
• 1831 - Independent Irish and Scottish Post Offices united under thePostmaster General of the United Kingdom, 31 years after theAct of Union
• 1839 5 December -Uniform Fourpenny Post starts throughout theUK.

• 1840 10 January -Uniform Penny Post starts throughout theUnited Kingdom.
• 1840 1 May - United Kingdom issues thePenny Black andTwo Pence Blue, the world's firstpostage stamps.
• 1842 1 FebruaryCity Despatch Post New York local post.
• 1843 1 March -Zürich issue their first stamps:Zürich 4 and 6.
• 1843 1 August -Bull's Eyes, first stamps ofBrazil
• 1843 30 September -Geneva issue their first stamps:Double Geneva.
• 1845 - Creation of theNew York Postmaster's Provisional
• 1845 - The USstar routes begin operation.
• 1847 21 SeptemberMauritius issues its first stamps, theMauritius "Post Office" stamps, or the Red Penny and Blue Penny.
• 1848 - first use ofPerot Provisionals inBermuda
• 1849 1 July - first stamps ofBelgium, known as the"Epaulettes" type

• 1851 23 April - TheProvince of Canada issues its first stamp, theThree-Penny Beaver, designed bySandford Fleming.
• 1852 -Scinde Dawks inIndia
• 1853 - first stamps ofPortugal
• 1854 - first stamps ofIndia
• 1858 - London is divided into postal districts, precursor of BritishPostcode System.

• 1860 1 December -first stamps of Malta
• 1860 - ThePony Express operates in the western United States for a short time.
• 1864 - United States establishesrailroad post offices.
• 1867 - first stamps ofAustrian post offices in the Turkish Empire

• 1874 9 October -General Postal Union (laterUniversal Postal Union) is formed.
• 1878 -General Postal Union becomes theUniversal Postal Union.

• 1896 - United States experiments withrural free delivery, is made permanent in 1902.

• 1911 - United States creates apostal savings system.
• 1913 - United States initiatesparcel post service, using special stamps.
• 1916 - United Statespostal inspectors solve the last knownstagecoach robbery in the US.
• 1918 - United States issues its firstairmail stamps; a sheet of theInverted Jenny is discovered among them.

• 1935 - United States initiatesTrans-Pacific airmail service.
• 1939 -Postal censorship introduced in several countries, both combatants and neutrals, involved inWorld War II

• 1941 - United States createshighway post offices.
• 1942 - United States usesV-mail to handle armed forces' mail.
• 1946 - first stamps of independentJordan^[12]

• 1955 - United States initiatescertified mail service.
• 1957 - United States establishesCitizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to choose stamp designs
• 1959 - UKPostcode scheme introduced.
• 1959 - TheUSSBarbero andUnited States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail viaMissile Mail.

• 1963 - United States introduces theZIP Code.
• 1964 - 9 February -Sierra Leone issues the world's firstself-adhesive stamps.
• 1966 - United States ends itspostal savings system.
• 1968 - United States initiatespriority mail as a type offirst-class mail.

• 1970 - United States passesPostal Reorganization Act, which changed the postal service from a government department to a corporation owned by the government.
• 1970 - United States initiates experimentalexpress mail service, makes it permanent in 1977.
• 1971 -United States Postal Service begins operation as a corporation.
• 1971 1 April -Canadian six-character postal codes introduced.
• 1974 - United States ends its use ofhighway post offices.
• 1977 30 June - United States ends use ofrailroad post offices.

• 1982 - United States introducesE-COM, an electronic message service.
• 1983 - United States introducesZIP + 4.
• 1984 21 November - first stamps ofBurkina Faso
• 1985 - United States terminatesE-COM service.

• 2007, 12 April -USPS issues anon-denominated stamp called theforever stamp^[13][14]
• 2011, 13 July - newly independentSouth Sudan issues its first postage stamps.
• 2015, 1 February -Megan Brennan appointed first female US Postmaster General^[15]

• Wood, Kenneth A.Post Dates: A Chronology of Intriguing Events in the Mails and Philately. Albany, OR.: Van Dahl Publications, 1985ISBN 0-934466-08-4 370p.

• Technology timelines
• Postal history

• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description
• Articles needing additional references from May 2019
• All articles needing additional references