Telegraafist

Telegraafist is a historical term for a professional who operated the telegraph, transmitting and receiving messages over electrical lines using Morse code. The term is more commonly rendered in Dutch as telegrafist; telegraafist is a less common or older spelling found in some sources and in historical texts.

Telegraphists worked in telegraph offices, railway stations, military outposts, and private networks. Their duties included setting up and monitoring the equipment, sending messages by tapping a key to create Morse signals, decoding incoming signals from sounders or receiving instruments, and recording transmissions for dispatch and billing. They coordinated with other operators to route messages, managed timekeeping and event stamping, and performed basic line maintenance and fault reporting. Training typically covered Morse code proficiency, basic electricity and telegraphy principles, and practices for maintaining accuracy and security of messages.

With the spread of the telephone, teletype and later digital communications, the demand for human telegraph operators declined from the mid-20th century onward. Many job functions were automated or outsourced, and dedicated telegraph offices were closed or repurposed. Today the term telegraafist is mainly encountered in historical writing; the English equivalents are telegraphist or telegrapher. The broader field of telecommunication history includes the emergence of electrical messaging networks, the development of nationwide and international telegraph systems, and their social and economic impacts.