When did we start using zip codes? Area codes?

Using area codes to help efficiently sort post was introduced in 1943. However, by the

1950's a more specific and detailed guide was needed. This is when the United States Postal Service began using the ZIP code (ZIP meaning Zone Improvement Plan).



It was first thought of by postal inspector Robert Moon - he submitted the proposal for a ZIP code in 1944. However, his idea was largely ignored until the 1960's. The ZIP code began to be used widely in 1963.When did we start using zip codes? Area codes?
In addition to what Milson Bartleby said above, I'll point out that, in an effort to increase efficiency, the U.S. Postal Service began using the "ZIP + four" system in 1983. In that, the ZIP code still signifies a certain geographical area, but the four-digit add-on code breaks it down even further to designate a SPECIFIC section of that area; for example, it could signify a city block, a row of apartments, or others such as that. As I've learned from my OWN mail, if the recipient has a post office box, the add-on code is usually the last four digits of that box number; if the box has only THREE digits, then the add-on code is 0 plus the box number.When did we start using zip codes? Area codes?
In Britain it was in the 1980s. London has had postal codes since Victorian times.