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From 1815 to 1914, London presided over an expanding global system marked by industry, capital exports and colonial conquests, all spurred by the integration of the planet via railroad, steamship, telegraph and ultimately radio.

In December 1914, monster seas shoved a steamship carrying a cargo of Christmas toys into the pier, slicing both pier and oil pipeline in half.

More recently, Tang says, steamships and improved housing—heating and plumbing create the warm, moist conditions cockroaches love—enabled the itinerant insects to spread around the globe.

On July 9, 1868, the steamship Milwaukee was crossing Lake Michigan on its way to the lakefront town of Muskegon, Mich., to pick up a load of lumber when disaster struck.

To many, landline phones have come to seem as essential as steamships and telegrams in the smartphone era.