Agence France-Presse has its origins in the Agence Havas, founded in 1835 in Paris by Charles-Louis Havas, making it the world's oldest news service.[1][2] The agency pioneered the collection and dissemination of news as a commodity,[1] and had established itself as a fully global concern by the late 19th century.[3] Two Havas employees, Paul Julius Reuter and Bernhard Wolff, set up their own news agencies in London and Berlin respectively.[1]