First Postage Stamp

While Post has been in existence in some form since time immemorial, the postage stamps were introduced in 1840. Earlier to this, the receiver of the letter would pay the charges for delivery of the letter. This ensured that the postman would deliver the mail honestly. Later the sender started paying the charges and got a receipt for that. But managing so many receipts became a problem. Lord Rowland Hill proposed to the British government to paste the receipt on the letter in the form of a stamp. Queen Victoria, then ruler of Great Britain agreed to this. The first postage stamp that were printed then carried her picture.