Transatlantic Telegraph Cable

For centuries, news between Europe and America had traveled no faster than sailing ships could carry it—three weeks in good weather, longer in bad. Suddenly, messages could cross the ocean in minutes, collapsing time and distance in ways that seemed almost magical to contemporary observers. Though the first cable failed after only a month, its brief success proved that instant global communication was possible, launching an era that would culminate in today’s internet age.

The Challenge of Ocean Communication

Ships and Slow News

Before the telegraph cable, transatlantic communication depended entirely on ships. A letter posted in London might reach New York in two to three weeks if weather cooperated, but winter storms could extend the journey to six weeks or more. Business transactions requiring correspondence back and forth could take months to complete, while news of major events reached the other side of the Atlantic weeks after they occurred.

This communication gap created serious problems for international trade and diplomacy. Financial markets operated with outdated information, diplomatic crises festered without real-time consultation, and families separated by the Atlantic endured months of uncertainty about loved ones’ welfare. The California Gold Rush of 1849 demonstrated the problem dramatically—news of gold discoveries took months to reach the East Coast, and by the time prospectors arrived, the best claims were long gone.

The Telegraph Revolution

Samuel Morse’s successful demonstration of the electromagnetic telegraph in 1844 revolutionized land-based communication. His first message—“What hath God wrought”—traveled instantly from Washington to Baltimore, proving that electrical signals could carry information faster than any previous method.

Telegraph networks spread rapidly across continents. By the 1850s, telegraph lines connected major cities across Europe and North America, while underwater cables began linking nearby countries. The English Channel cable of 1851 successfully connected Britain to continental Europe, proving that underwater telegraphy was technically feasible.

These successes made the Atlantic cable seem like the next logical step, but the scale of the challenge was unprecedented. The Atlantic Ocean was deeper, wider, and more violent than any body of water previously spanned by telegraph cable. Success would require advances in engineering, manufacturing, and seamanship that pushed 19th-century technology to its limits.

Visionaries and Early Attempts

Cyrus Field’s Obsession

American entrepreneur Cyrus West Field became obsessed with the idea of an Atlantic telegraph cable after meeting Frederick Gisborne, who had attempted to connect Newfoundland to New York by telegraph. Field recognized that extending such a system across the Atlantic would create the first instantaneous link between the Old and New Worlds.

Field possessed the key qualities needed for such an ambitious undertaking: unlimited optimism, impressive fundraising abilities, and remarkable persistence in the face of repeated failure. He would spend the next two decades and much of his personal fortune pursuing the transatlantic cable, surviving financial ruin, public ridicule, and technological disasters that would have defeated most entrepreneurs.

Field’s first step was organizing the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856, bringing together British and American investors to fund what was then the most expensive private venture ever attempted. The company’s board included some of the era’s most prominent figures, while its technical advisors represented the cutting edge of electrical and marine engineering.

Engineering Challenges

Creating a transatlantic cable required solving problems that had never been encountered before. The cable needed to withstand enormous water pressure at depths exceeding two miles, resist the corrosive effects of seawater for decades, and maintain electrical conductivity across distances far greater than any previous telegraph line.

William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) provided crucial theoretical insights into long-distance electrical transmission. His mathematical analysis revealed that signal strength decreased dramatically with cable length, requiring sensitive receiving equipment and careful attention to electrical resistance and capacitance.

The cable itself represented a triumph of 19th-century manufacturing. The core consisted of seven copper wires surrounded by three coats of gutta-percha, a natural rubber-like material that provided excellent insulation. This was wrapped in tarred hemp for protection, then armored with eighteen iron wires to withstand the stresses of deep-sea laying and retrieval.

The 1857 Disaster

The first attempt to lay the Atlantic cable began in August 1857 using two ships, HMS Agamemnon and USS Niagara. The plan called for the ships to meet mid-ocean, splice their cable sections together, then proceed to opposite shores while paying out cable behind them.

The expedition seemed cursed from the beginning. Storms battered the fleet, cable-laying machinery malfunctioned, and the cable itself proved more fragile than expected. After laying 380 miles of cable, it snapped and sank to the ocean floor, taking with it over £50,000 worth of copper and gutta-percha.

Public reaction was harsh. Newspapers mocked Field’s “wild scheme,” investors lost confidence, and technical experts questioned whether such a cable could ever work reliably. However, Field used the failure as a learning experience, analyzing what went wrong and developing solutions for the next attempt.

Triumph and Catastrophic Failure

The 1858 Success

The second expedition in July 1858 adopted a different strategy. Instead of starting from shore and meeting mid-ocean, both ships would start from the middle of the Atlantic and lay cable toward opposite shores simultaneously. This approach reduced the risk of cable breaks and allowed better coordination between the two vessels.

After initial difficulties, the strategy worked. On August 5, 1858, the cable was successfully landed at Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, while the Irish end reached Valentia on the same day. For the first time in history, North America and Europe were connected by instantaneous communication.

The immediate public reaction was euphoric. Church bells rang across Britain and America, newspapers proclaimed a new era of international understanding, and celebrations continued for days. Queen Victoria exchanged congratulatory messages with President James Buchanan, while merchants began planning business ventures that would exploit the new communication link.

Technical Problems and Public Skepticism

Unfortunately, the cable’s performance was disappointing from the start. Messages took hours rather than minutes to transmit, signal quality varied dramatically, and many messages arrived garbled beyond recognition. These problems stemmed from inadequate understanding of electrical theory and manufacturing defects that became apparent only under operating conditions.

Wildman Whitehouse, the company’s chief electrician, made the problems worse by applying excessive voltages to force signals through the degraded cable. His high-voltage approach actually damaged the cable’s insulation, accelerating its deterioration and reducing signal quality further.

Public skepticism grew as news of the cable’s problems spread. Newspaper critics suggested that the entire operation was a hoax designed to manipulate stock prices, while technical experts questioned whether long-distance underwater telegraphy was even theoretically possible. When the cable failed completely after only a month of sporadic operation, public confidence in the project collapsed.

Learning from Failure

Scientific Investigation

The cable’s failure prompted serious scientific investigation into the principles of long-distance electrical transmission. Lord Kelvin developed the mathematical theory of cable transmission, while Michael Faraday investigated the electrical properties of gutta-percha insulation under various conditions.

This research revealed fundamental flaws in the original cable design and operating procedures. The copper conductors were too small to carry signals efficiently over such distances, the insulation was inadequately tested for deep-sea conditions, and the high voltages used for transmission actually damaged the cable rather than improving performance.

Armed with this new understanding, cable engineers developed improved designs that would form the basis for the successful 1866 cable. These innovations included larger conductors for better signal transmission, more reliable insulation materials, and sensitive receiving equipment that could detect weak signals without requiring damaging high voltages.

Financial and Organizational Challenges

The 1858 failure also revealed serious organizational problems within the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Inadequate quality control had allowed defective cable sections to be shipped, while poor coordination between electrical and marine engineering teams had led to conflicting operational procedures.

Cyrus Field spent years rebuilding financial support for another attempt. The American Civil War demonstrated the strategic importance of rapid long-distance communication, while successful shorter submarine cables proved that underwater telegraphy could work reliably when properly engineered.

The formation of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company in 1864 provided the project with experienced cable manufacturers and marine engineers who had learned from previous failures. This new organization combined theoretical knowledge with practical experience in ways that the original Atlantic Telegraph Company had failed to achieve.

The Great Eastern and Ultimate Success

The Perfect Cable Ship

The key to success was SS Great Eastern, the largest ship in the world and the only vessel capable of carrying an entire transatlantic cable in a single voyage. Designed originally as a passenger liner by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Great Eastern had been a commercial failure but proved perfect for cable laying.

The ship’s enormous size—692 feet long and displacing 32,000 tons—allowed it to carry 2,300 miles of cable along with all necessary equipment for manufacturing, testing, and repairing the cable during the voyage. More importantly, laying cable from a single ship eliminated the coordination problems that had plagued previous attempts using multiple vessels.

Extensive modifications prepared the Great Eastern for its new role. Special cable tanks with carefully controlled temperature and humidity preserved the cable during the Atlantic crossing, while sophisticated cable-laying machinery allowed precise control of laying speed and tension. The ship also carried a full complement of electrical testing equipment to monitor cable performance throughout the laying process.

The 1865 Attempt

The 1865 cable-laying expedition represented the most ambitious engineering project of the 19th century. The new cable incorporated all the lessons learned from previous failures: larger copper conductors, improved gutta-percha insulation, and stronger armoring to withstand deep-sea conditions.

Initial progress was excellent, with over 1,200 miles of cable laid successfully. The electrical performance was far superior to the 1858 cable, with clear signals transmitted across the growing length of underwater line. However, disaster struck when the cable parted in deep water, and attempts to recover it failed despite heroic efforts by the ship’s crew.

The 1865 failure was particularly heartbreaking because the cable had been working so well. However, it provided crucial experience in cable recovery techniques and deep-sea operations that would prove essential for the following year’s success.

Victory in 1866

The 1866 expedition finally achieved lasting success. Using an improved cable design and lessons learned from previous attempts, the Great Eastern successfully laid a complete cable from Ireland to Newfoundland in just two weeks. More importantly, the cable worked perfectly from the moment it was connected, carrying clear signals across the Atlantic without the problems that had plagued earlier attempts.

The 1866 success was followed immediately by recovery of the lost 1865 cable, which was found on the ocean floor, repaired, and successfully completed. This achievement gave the Atlantic Telegraph Company two working cables and demonstrated mastery of deep-sea cable technology that would make future projects routine.

Transforming Global Communication

Immediate Impact on Commerce and News

The successful Atlantic cable immediately transformed international commerce and journalism. Stock prices could now be transmitted between London and New York in minutes rather than weeks, allowing for coordinated trading across both markets. International businesses could respond quickly to opportunities and problems, while banks could verify credit and arrange financing in real-time.

Newspapers competed to provide the fastest transatlantic news service. Reuters and other news agencies invested heavily in telegraph services, creating the first global news networks that could distribute information worldwide within hours of events occurring. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 was the first major conflict reported in real-time to global audiences.

Shrinking the World

The psychological impact of instant transatlantic communication was as important as its practical effects. The Atlantic Ocean, which had represented an unbridgeable gulf between continents, suddenly seemed as passable as a river. Emigrants could maintain closer contact with families left behind, while international relationships deepened through regular correspondence.

The cable also began the process of creating global markets and international public opinion. Financial panics could now spread worldwide in hours rather than weeks, while political events in one country immediately influenced discussions in others. This acceleration of global communication set the stage for the interconnected world of the 20th century.

Expanding the Cable Network

Success in the Atlantic encouraged similar projects worldwide. Cables soon connected Britain to India via the Mediterranean and Red Sea, while Pacific cables linked America to Asia and Australia. By 1900, telegraph cables formed a global network that enabled instant communication between all major continents.

These cables often followed colonial and commercial relationships, with the British Empire creating the most extensive network. The “All Red Route” connected all British territories by underwater cables, enabling coordinated imperial administration and strengthening economic ties between colonies and the home country.

Technical Legacy and Future Developments

Advancing Communication Technology

The Atlantic cable established principles that guided communication development for over a century. The importance of signal amplification, error correction, and network reliability became fundamental concepts in telecommunications engineering. Even modern fiber-optic cables follow routes first established by 19th-century telegraph cables.

The cable also demonstrated the importance of international cooperation in communication systems. Technical standards, operational procedures, and legal frameworks developed for telegraph cables provided precedents for later technologies including telephone, radio, and internet communications.

Economic and Political Consequences

Submarine cables created the first truly global economy by enabling coordinated financial markets and instant international trade communications. The London Stock Exchange became the center of global finance partly because of its excellent cable connections to other markets, while commodity prices could be coordinated worldwide for the first time.

Politically, cables enhanced the power of nations and corporations that controlled them. Cable cuts during wars became strategic objectives, while cable landing points became important diplomatic assets. This pattern would continue through the 20th century with radio, satellite, and internet communications.

From Telegraph to Internet

The Atlantic cable began the process of creating global information networks that culminated in today’s internet. Many internet backbone routes follow paths first established by telegraph cables, while the basic principles of packet switching, error correction, and network redundancy evolved from telegraph engineering.

The social impact of instant global communication that began with the Atlantic cable continues to accelerate with each new technology. The sense that the world is shrinking, that events anywhere can affect people everywhere, and that national boundaries are less important than information networks all trace back to that first successful message sent between Ireland and Newfoundland in 1858.

Primary Sources and Research

Historical Archives

• Atlantic Cable Website: Comprehensive collection of historical documents and technical information
• Institution of Engineering and Technology Archives: Technical papers and corporate records from cable companies
• National Maritime Museum, Greenwich: Ships, navigation, and marine technology
• Science Museum, London: Telegraph equipment and electrical engineering history

Contemporary Accounts

• Field, Henry M. “History of the Atlantic Telegraph” (1866): Contemporary account by participant’s brother
• Russell, W.H. “The Atlantic Telegraph” (1865): Journalist’s account of 1865 expedition
• Bright, Charles “Submarine Telegraphs” (1898): Technical history by leading cable engineer

Modern Research

• International Cable Protection Committee: Modern submarine cable industry and technology
• IEEE History Center: Electrical engineering history including telegraphy
• Cable & Wireless Archive: Corporate records of major cable companies
• TeleGeography: Modern submarine cable routes and capacity

Related Topics and Further Exploration

• Industrial Revolution: Manufacturing capabilities that made cable production possible
• The Internet: Modern evolution of global communication networks
• Victorian Engineering: 19th-century technical achievements and methods
• Globalization: Economic and cultural integration enabled by communication technology
• Telegraph and Communication History: Development of electrical communication systems

The transatlantic telegraph cable represents a pivotal moment in human history when technology first enabled instant global communication. This achievement required unprecedented international cooperation, pushed engineering to its limits, and created the foundation for our modern interconnected world.

Understanding the cable’s development illuminates both the possibilities and challenges of global communication networks. From Cyrus Field’s persistent optimism to the Great Eastern’s engineering marvel, the story demonstrates how vision, persistence, and technical innovation can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles to transform human civilization.