Robert Moon, inventor of ZIP code, dies at 83

LEESBURG, Fla. (AP) — Robert Aurand Moon, inventor of the ZIP code, died Wednesday after a lengthy illness. He was 83.

Moon started his postal career in the 1940s as a postal inspector in Philadelphia and Chicago. It was around that time that he began working on his idea for a Zoning Improvement Plan.

ZIP code numbers first appeared in postal directories on July 1, 1963.

After retiring in 1965, Moon went to Washington, D.C., in 1970 to become director of delivery services. He retired again in 1977.