Rowland Hill was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer.
He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system… he is usually credited with originating the basic concepts of the modern postal service, including the invention of the postage stamp.
He started to take an interest in postal reforms in 1835
Hill’s pamphlet Post Office Reform;Its importance and Practicability was submitted to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Thomas Spring Rice on 4th January 1817.
It was then circulated privately.
The postal service was mismanaged, wasteful, expensive and slow. It had become inadequate for the needs of an expanding commercial and industrial nation. It stated costs could be reduced if postage were prepaid by the sender.
Proposing an adhesive stamp to indicate pre-payment of postage. 1840 was the first year of the Penny Post. In May 1840 the world’s first adhesive postage stamps were distributed.
Rowland continued at the Post Office until the Conservative Party won the 1841 General Election . In July 1842, amid rancorous controversy, he was dismissed.
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