First Pacific Telegraph Cable Laid: San Francisco to Hawaii
The cable weighed 7,000 tons and took three ships to lay across 2,400 miles of open ocean. When the SS Silvertown spliced the final connection off Diamond Head on January 1, engineers sent the first message: "A happy new year to you all." It took 12 minutes to reach California. Before this, news from Hawaii traveled by steamship — two weeks minimum, longer if storms hit. Stock prices, diplomatic cables, family emergencies — all moved at the speed of coal and wind. After the splice, they moved at the speed of electricity. Within six months, the company extended the line to Guam, then Manila. A message from San Francisco to the Philippines, which once took 40 days, now took 40 minutes. The Pacific wasn't smaller. But for the first time, it wasn't silent.
December 14, 1902
124 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Telegraphy
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San Francisco
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Honolulu
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Pacific Ocean
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Honolulu, Hawaii
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Commercial Pacific Cable Company
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Ocean Beach, San Francisco
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Telegraphy
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San Francisco
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Honolulu
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Commercial Pacific Cable Company
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