The Atlantic Telegraph Company initiated a global communication revolution in 1858 by completing the first underwater telegraphic link across the Atlantic Ocean. Cyrus West Field acted as the primary architect behind this monumental engineering feat, leveraging his financial acumen to organize the international investors and technical resources required to connect Newfoundland with Ireland via submarine cable.
Early Mercantile Career
Born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1819, Field began his career as a youth in New York City, working as an errand boy for the firm A.T. Stewart & Co. He later transitioned into the paper manufacturing industry, establishing his own firm, Cyrus W. Field & Co. Through this venture, he supplied paper to the expanding penny press and financial sectors. Notably, after a previous partnership failed, he repaid all outstanding debts with interest in 1853, despite having no legal obligation to do so, which established his reputation for integrity.
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In 1854, Field shifted his focus toward telegraphy following an introduction to British engineer Frederic Newton Gisborne. Field organized a group of investors known as the Cable Cabinet, including Peter Cooper and Samuel F.B. Morse, to fund and manage the extension of telegraph lines. This group consolidated various American telegraph systems into a cohesive network. By securing governmental backing from both the United States and Britain, Field successfully directed the Atlantic Telegraph Company to begin laying the deep-sea line along a submarine plateau.
Technical Achievement and Long-term Connectivity
The 1858 cable successfully transmitted a Morse code message from Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan, though it failed within three weeks. Undeterred, Field oversaw a more durable installation in 1866. Utilizing the SS Great Eastern, the largest ship of its time, he placed a reliable connection that facilitated permanent near-instantaneous communication between continents. For these contributions to global connectivity, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Fast facts
- Born: 1819, Stockbridge
- Died: 1892, Irvington
- Burial location: Stockbridge Cemetery
- Primary accomplishment: Transatlantic telegraph cable
- Notable honor: Congressional Gold Medal
- Key business partner: Peter Cooper
- Citizenship: United States
- Professional roles: Engineer, entrepreneur, financier, inventor
Questions readers ask
What was the Cable Cabinet?
It was a group of investors and engineers, including Cyrus West Field, Peter Cooper, and Samuel F.B. Morse, organized to fund and coordinate the transatlantic telegraph project.
Did the 1858 cable remain operational?
No, the 1858 cable ceased functioning three weeks after its opening; a permanent, reliable connection was not established until 1866 using the SS Great Eastern.
Achievements
- Notable work: transatlantic telegraph cable
- Worked as entrepreneur, financier and inventor
