With billions of people sending texts every single day, there had to be someone that started the whole ‘texting’ era.
In 1992, Vodafone was still testing its new SMS service. The team was figuring out the little details like the familiar “beep” that tells you a message has arrived and how to make typing easier on those early keypads.
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On 3rd December 1992, Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old developer and a test-engineer, decided to try it out. Using an Orbitel 901 handset, he sent the first-ever text message to his colleague Richard Jarvis. The message was just two words: “Merry Christmas.”
Neil later shared, “I only recently told my children that I sent that first text. Looking back, it’s clear that the Christmas message I sent was a pivotal moment in mobile history.”
It took almost seven more years before texting gained popularity, including the use of emojis. But it all started with a cheerful wish of Merry Christmas, proving that even simple gestures, or kind words, can make history.
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