Transatlantic Cable Complete: Instant Global Messages
The steamship Great Eastern laid the first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable between Valentia Island, Ireland, and Heart's Content, Newfoundland, completing the connection on July 27, 1866. Previous attempts in 1857 and 1858 had failed: the first cable snapped during laying, and the second worked for only three weeks before dying. The 1866 cable used improved gutta-percha insulation and copper conductor designed by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), who personally supervised the laying from aboard the Great Eastern. Messages that had taken ten days by ship now crossed the ocean in minutes. Queen Victoria and President Andrew Johnson exchanged congratulatory telegrams. The cable collapsed communication time between continents by 99.9%.
July 27, 1866
160 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Ireland
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Newfoundland (island)
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transatlantic telegraph cable
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Heart's Content
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Valentia Island
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Transatlantic telegraph cable
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Valentia Island
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Heart's Content, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Newfoundland (island)
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Cable submarino
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Republic of Ireland
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