George P. Oslin, a 1920 graduate of Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is credited with inventing the singing telegram.
As a Western Union executive, he sent the very first singing telegram — in which a Western Union operator sang to star vocalist Rudy Vallee on his birthday — on July 28, 1933, according to The New York Times.
Oslin’s career also included working as a newspaper reporter, writing magazine articles on telecommunications and writing for encyclopedias. He died in 1996 at the age of 97.
Mercer Made is a series in which we feature notable people, businesses, products and inventions connected to Mercer University.
