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I'm Holley, 16 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,679 Speaker 1: Trying and Wilson, and today we are listening to a 17 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: topic that we have gotten a number of requests for. 18 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: One of them that sticks in my mind because the 19 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,400 Speaker 1: request from our listener Jeff. But basically, the eighteen thirties 20 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: and the eighteen forties were a really exciting time for 21 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 1: communication throughout the world, scientists and inventors were experimenting with 22 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,479 Speaker 1: telegraphy in some form or another, and the world sort 23 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: of stood on this threshold of information flow. And once 24 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: the ability to reach one another through mechanical means started 25 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: to become a reality. Of course, as we know living 26 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: in the digital age now, that information flow quickly became 27 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: a full on jet But it really was like a 28 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: pretty speedy transition even then. Uh But to get to 29 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: that initial point where things really started to be global, 30 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: it took almost two decades to get a message sent 31 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: across the Atlantic Ocean by telegraph. That's from the time 32 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: the idea was adopted as the next logical step for 33 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: global communication to when they actually got a line completed. 34 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: And we're king and this is sort of a story 35 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: of inspiration and daring, but above all, the real story 36 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: here is tenacity. As you will see our story of 37 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 1: the trans Atlantic cable. Unsurprisingly, we'll start with Samuel Morse, 38 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: who was credited with the invention of the telegraph, and 39 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: his original career trajectory if you're not familiar with it 40 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 1: might surprise you a little bit. I certainly was. Uh So. 41 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: Samuel F. B. Morrish was born on April to parents 42 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: Jedediah and Elizabeth Finley Morse. And as a student both 43 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: at Phillips Academy and then at Yale College, his performance 44 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: was pretty middling in all subjects except for art, which 45 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: he loved. He was not really aspiring to be an 46 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: engineer or an inventor at this point. He wanted to 47 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: become a painter when he got out of college. It 48 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: was not a particularly lucrative career plan. After an apprenticeship 49 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: to a Boston publisher, it was a parent that art 50 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: really was the only thing that he was interested in, 51 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: so his father sent him to England to study at 52 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: the Royal Academy, where he developed his style in the 53 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: Romantic tradition. So after studying in England, he returned to 54 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: Boston in eighteen fifteen and he set up a studio 55 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: there where he continued to paint these large, epic pieces 56 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: that were really well regarded, but they weren't very lucrative. 57 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: Everybody loved to look at them and talked about how 58 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: good they were, but nobody was buying them. So a 59 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: few years into his art career, he married a woman 60 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,359 Speaker 1: named Lucretia Walker. This was in eighteen eighteen and at 61 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: this point he realized he had to make ends meet 62 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: and provide for his bride and they were having a family, 63 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: so he began taking commissions to paint portraits, often traveling 64 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: to do so. Seven years into the marriage, Lucretia died 65 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: after giving birth to the couple's third child, and Samuel 66 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: was away on a painting job when this happened. He 67 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: was so devastated that he wasn't able to make it 68 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: home in time for her burial, and this was just 69 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: the beginning of a series of heartaches for him. His 70 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: father died the following year, and then his mother passed 71 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: way a few years after that. So eventually Morse decided 72 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: to travel to Europe in eight nine for a three 73 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: year trip that was intended to help him move through 74 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: his grief. UH This also proved to be a pivotal 75 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: move because on the return voyage, once he had had 76 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: done this traveling, he met physician and sometimes inventor and 77 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: a great potential podcast subject, Charles Thomas Jackson. So, according 78 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: to the story, uh, Jackson and Morse discussed the possibilities 79 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: of the transmission of messages via electrical current, and Morse 80 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: came away from this discussion very inspired. After making some 81 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,239 Speaker 1: quick initial sketches for a machine and then spending several 82 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: years studying the electric relay work of scientists, Joseph Henry 83 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: Morse started building a telegraph prototype. As has been the 84 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: case with many inventions we've talked about in the podcast, 85 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: Morse's telegraph did not just appear in a vacuum. Not 86 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: only was he building on the work of others, but 87 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: they're also numerous other inventors who were working on similar 88 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: concept of concepts of the time, with all of them 89 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: basically driven by a goal of improved communication for humankind. Yeah, 90 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: it's important to remember that if you wanted to communicate 91 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: something across the Atlantic Ocean, which was a frequent UH destination, 92 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,039 Speaker 1: like people in the States were often sending things back 93 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: to Europe and vice versa, the fastest you could expect 94 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: a letter to reach someone was like a week, And 95 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: that was a really fast instance thinking about all the 96 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: various things we've talked about over the past years of 97 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: the show where problems would have been completely prevented if 98 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,840 Speaker 1: it didn't take weeks for a letter to get anywhere. Yeah. Yes, 99 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,239 Speaker 1: so this was sort of on a lot of people's minds. 100 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: They were like, man, if only I could get communication 101 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,239 Speaker 1: to go faster. So that's why many people were working 102 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: on this. And so from eighty to eighteen forty two, 103 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: Morse and a partner named Alfred Vale worked on getting 104 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,840 Speaker 1: funding to finish the development of the telegraph machine and 105 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: to develop the community Asian system that would eventually be 106 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: known as Morse Code. And a Congressman from Main named 107 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: Francis Ormand Jonathan Smith eventually back to the pair and 108 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,559 Speaker 1: he helped them get a congressional grant of thirty thousand 109 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: dollars to run a telegraph line from the US capital 110 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: in Washington, d C. To Baltimore, Maryland that was a 111 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: span of thirty eight miles about sixty one kilometers. Their 112 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: proof of concept demonstration for Congress had been a line 113 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,359 Speaker 1: strung between committee rooms and the capital that relayed several 114 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: messages back and forth. Even as the line from Washington's 115 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: to Baltimore was being laid, they were already using it. 116 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: They would they would sort of put out a stretch 117 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: and then attach a machine to it and use it. 118 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: And on May one, eighteen forty four, it had reached 119 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 1: within fifteen miles of Baltimore, and the line we was 120 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: used to transmit Wig Convention nominees to Morse in Washington, 121 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: d C. To announce the word via telegraph line got 122 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: to d C more than an hour faster than the 123 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: train from Baltimore that was carrying the news. Yeah, that 124 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: was kind of a big moment where people were like, 125 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: this is viable, this is really going to happen. And 126 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: on May eighteen forty four, the first telegraph on the 127 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: newly completed DC Baltimore line. So there had been some 128 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: going on before, but the completed line, the first UH 129 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: note was sent by Morris and it read what hath 130 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: God wrought? Once this message had actually been sent, it 131 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: led to a period of explosive growth in communications. There 132 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: were also multiple challenges to his patent on it, which 133 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: he was granted in eighteen forty seven, but ultimately he 134 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: was recognized as the inventor of the telegraph. Yeah, just 135 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: as with any big invention we've talked about, there were 136 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: a lot of people who wanted to say no, no, 137 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: I was part of that development. I was an important, 138 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: important part of it, including machine. Yeah, including the gentleman 139 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: that he had talked with while he was returning from Europe. 140 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: Charles Thomas Jackson again, that would be a whole great 141 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 1: episode in and of itself. But over the following decade 142 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: after they finish that that line between the capital and Baltimore, 143 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: more than twenty thousand miles that's kilometers roughly of telegraph 144 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: line was laid in the US and in Europe, a 145 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: similar set of criss crossing lines were being laid throughout 146 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: the continent, connecting people like never before. Seriously, I want 147 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: to make sure people grasp what a huge moment this was. 148 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: It's kind of like how we went from uh, regular 149 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: kind of clunky cell phones to smartphones and sort of 150 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: everything changed. In terms of trying to give a contemporary example, 151 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 1: it was that big of a jump. As quickly as 152 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: telegraph lines were spreading, ideas for new ways to extend 153 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: and push the technology we're also spreading. It wasn't long 154 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: before the idea of sending telegraphs across large bodies of 155 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: water took root in the minds of people who were, 156 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,079 Speaker 1: you know, thinking about advancements. While a so called Siberian 157 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: telegraph line was also considered considered because it would require 158 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: fewer dips into the water, a Transatlantic cable was deemed 159 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: to be more viable because it would need to travel 160 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: a shorter distance. Yeah, it also wouldn't have to deal 161 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 1: quite so much with cold. But of course a line 162 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,200 Speaker 1: across or more accurately under the water posed a number 163 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: of challenges. It had to be strong and resilient, and 164 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: it had to be insulated. But of course there were 165 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,320 Speaker 1: also industrious types who were completely ready and willing to 166 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: rise to such challenges. Uh. But before we start talking 167 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: about them and the herculean efforts that were made to 168 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: install this cable across the Atlantic, let's pause for a 169 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: moment and have a word from one of our sponsors. 170 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: Starting your own business can be difficult, but developing your 171 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: online presence really doesn't have to be. Google and square 172 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: Space I teamed up to give small business owners what 173 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: they need to succeed online. 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In 182 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:29,319 Speaker 1: the United States, Cyrus Westfield was the driving force behind 183 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: the idea to run a cable under the Atlantic, and 184 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: he started championing this idea in eighteen fifty four. The 185 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 1: Field was a financier from Stockbridge, Massachusetts who had made 186 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,680 Speaker 1: his money in the paper business, which trick cracks me 187 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: up a little bit because you know that might affect 188 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: his own financial interests before putting his efforts into submarine telegraph. 189 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: And this would not be the first line that was 190 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: dropped underwater. A link between Great Britain and France was 191 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,080 Speaker 1: completed at the beginning of the eighteen fifties that went 192 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: through the English Channel, but this was obviously a far 193 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: more ambitious thing than any linking line that had existed 194 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: up to that point, and there were other underwater lines 195 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: as well, but again much shorter under the entire ocean. 196 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: Yeah Field gathered information from a variety of sources in 197 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,559 Speaker 1: this whole plan. He spoke extensively with Frederick Newton Gisborne, 198 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: who had run a line from Nova Scotia to the 199 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: tip of Newfoundland. Before his company collapsed, he talked to 200 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: an oceanographer named Matthew Maury to try to gain insight 201 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: into issues like currents and the shifting of the sea floor, 202 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 1: and he referred to Samuel Morse to make sure that 203 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,680 Speaker 1: the technical requirements for this line would be adequately addressed. 204 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 1: Morris had also runs some underwater lines in the New 205 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 1: York Harbor, so he had some insights into the actual 206 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: running of submarine cables. Cyrus Field formed the New York, 207 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,680 Speaker 1: Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company to manage this venture, but 208 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: he didn't stay independent. It didn't stay that company that 209 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: eventually rolled hold up under a parent company that he 210 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: helped form called the Atlantic Telegraph Company, and Field at 211 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,439 Speaker 1: that point entered into a partnership with three British men 212 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: as they established that firm. That was Charles Bright and 213 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: then John and Jacob Brett, two brothers, and that happened 214 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,960 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty six. The Brett brothers had already run 215 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 1: that line that connected Britain and France across the English 216 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: Channel under the umbrella of the General Oceanic and Submarine 217 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: Telegraph Company, so they had some pretty good experience to 218 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: start with. The partnership began with three fifty thousand British 219 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: pounds and capital Field's own money made up about a 220 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,120 Speaker 1: quarter of that startup capital, and then the company was 221 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 1: able to get a charter to run an insulated line 222 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: of cable across the Atlantic. The British government also paid 223 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: an annual subsidy to the project of a fourteen hundred 224 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 1: pounds per year. So first the cable that they needed 225 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,560 Speaker 1: had to be manufactured, and that was a process which 226 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: basically took the entire first half of eighteen fifty seven. 227 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: It was made by two different companies, Glass Eliott and 228 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 1: Company of Greenwich and Rs. Newell and Company of Liverpool. 229 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: And this cable was made using seven twenty two gauge 230 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 1: copper wires which were twisted together and then they were 231 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 1: coated with latex, and that latex shrouded line was then 232 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: wrapped in tarred hemp, and then that was coated with 233 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,560 Speaker 1: an iron wire casing that was made from eighteen strands 234 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: of wire, each made with seven charcoal annealed iron wires 235 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: that were twenty two gauge. So it was a lot 236 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,840 Speaker 1: of wrapped in coiled wire making up one big cable. 237 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: The cable once it was all assembled, was approximately three 238 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 1: quarters of an inch in diameter, and a mile of 239 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,440 Speaker 1: cable required a hundred and thirty three miles of wire 240 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: to make it. It weighed about a ton per mile 241 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: of length. Yeah, that is not not light business. And 242 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: in the meantime, the Atlantic Telegraph Company, while that cable 243 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 1: was being made, had been drumming up aid from both 244 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,959 Speaker 1: the US and British navies for this project. So the U. S. 245 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: Navy had already compiled a survey of the Atlantic Ocean 246 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: between Newfoundland and Ireland that identified the most suitable route 247 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,560 Speaker 1: for the cable to sit, and once the cable was 248 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: completed in the two locations by those two companies, it 249 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: was placed aboard two ships. The Niagara from the US 250 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,200 Speaker 1: collected the cable that had been manufactured in Liverpool, and 251 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: the HMS Agamemnon of Great Britain took on the cable 252 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: that had been manufactured in Greenwich. The initial run set 253 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:25,040 Speaker 1: out from the most westerly point of Ireland the first 254 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: week of August seven. After the European end of the 255 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: cable was brought ashore. First, the Niagara would lay down 256 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: its cargo of cable, which would take it to the 257 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: mid Atlantic and then the cable aboard the agamem Nod 258 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 1: would be spliced to that and would be dropped for 259 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 1: the rest of the distance to North America. And things 260 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: went pretty well for almost a week, but after six 261 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: days there was an error handling the braking mechanism that 262 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: controlled the cable speed of descent into the water, so 263 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: the line snapped less than four hundred miles about sixty 264 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: four kilometers into the trip, and they tried with like 265 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: grappling mechanisms to try to grab it again, but they 266 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 1: just could not, so the Niagara and the Agamemnon returned 267 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: to port. Additional cable had to be made up for 268 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: the lengths of line that were lost to the bottom 269 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: of the sea. The second attempt started with the same 270 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: two vessels, but this time, instead of both setting out 271 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 1: in the same direction, they met in the mid Atlantic 272 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: and then spliced the ends of the cables from each 273 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: ship together, and then the ships set out in separate 274 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 1: directions like some kind of math problem. Unsurprisingly to me, 275 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 1: the line broke almost as soon as the two ships 276 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: started moving. That just seems like the worst, worst possible plan. Well, 277 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: that's eventually how it happens. So don't get too judging. 278 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: It seems it seems like this is rife. It seems 279 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: like a big gamble. But they had done some testing 280 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,760 Speaker 1: in smaller bodies of water while they were having that 281 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: extra cable made, and it seemed like this was probably 282 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: gonna work. So a third attempt was started right away again, 283 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: beginning with the joint of the two lines before each 284 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: of the ships set out, and with only forty miles 285 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: about sixty four kilometers of cable in place, there was 286 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: yet another snap. They tried a third time, and this 287 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: yielded better results. They did manage to put down a 288 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: hundred and forty six miles about two kilometers worth of 289 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 1: line before there was another break, And each time they 290 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: would grapple and try to get those ends. But at 291 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: some point you had to cut your losses and say 292 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 1: let's go back to port and reformulate our plan. At 293 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: this point, I feel like the trans Atlantic cable had 294 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: burned down, fell over, and then sank it to the swamp. 295 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: That's pretty much how it feels. I would have given 296 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: up at this point, but remember they're so deep in. 297 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: Four efforts gone bad was a setback. I'm sure plenty 298 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,800 Speaker 1: of other people were like me judging their failures, but 299 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: it did not stop the project. Money was short, however, 300 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 1: and these numerous failed attempts had already cost about three 301 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: hundred thousand pounds, so new shares of the Atlantic Telegraph 302 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:04,400 Speaker 1: Company had to be offered for sale at twenty pounds 303 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: each to try to build up the company coffers. And 304 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 1: they did. They made some money, and we're ready to go. 305 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: So the Agamemnon and the Niagara set sail for the 306 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 1: rendezvous point in the mid Atlantic once again on June 307 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 1: tenth of eighteen fifty eight, after they had been restocked 308 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: with cable and machinery, but this time a storm quickly 309 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 1: derailed their plans. The Niagara managed the weather without too 310 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: much trouble, but the Agamemnon really really suffered. According to accounts, 311 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: it almost capsized. It lost some of the coal that 312 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: it was using for fuel as it was being tossed 313 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: around at sea, and while the two vessels did manage 314 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,440 Speaker 1: to meet and start their cable laying mission, things quickly failed. 315 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: Not only did the cable snap, but the Agamemnon had 316 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: to use sail power to try to return to the 317 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:50,199 Speaker 1: rendezvous point. But the Niagara at that point had returned 318 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: to Ireland as had been in the plan in the 319 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: event that the two ships lost communication. So eventually the 320 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: Agamemnon also made it back to Port on July twelve, 321 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,360 Speaker 1: and the next two weeks were spent repairing and we're 322 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: stocking and resetting the ships. Four vessels met in the 323 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:09,920 Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean on July to try yet again. The ships 324 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,120 Speaker 1: were the Agamemnon, the Valorous, the Niagara, and the Gorgon, 325 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: with the Agamemnon and the Valorous aimed at Ireland and 326 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,120 Speaker 1: the Niagara and the Gorgon headed towards Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. 327 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:24,239 Speaker 1: The four vessels started laying cable and this time they 328 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 1: managed to connect the line short shore all the way 329 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 1: across the Atlantic. So apparently they just needed two more 330 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:35,440 Speaker 1: ships additionally, well they I think those may have even 331 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:38,879 Speaker 1: been on a prior attempt, but I wasn't clear on 332 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: that in my research. They're kind of left out of 333 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: a lot of the talk because they were kind of 334 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:45,000 Speaker 1: just support vessels at that point. They were still doing 335 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: basically the same plan with two ships running line, and 336 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:51,399 Speaker 1: then they had some support in case, I presume, but 337 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 1: they did manage to get it stretched across and that 338 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,920 Speaker 1: cable was completed on August five, when the Agamemnon reached Ireland. 339 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: That was one day after or the Niagara had brought 340 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 1: the North American into the cable to Trinity Bay. And 341 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:07,199 Speaker 1: all told, at this point the line ran more than 342 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: two thousand miles that's about kilometers across the ocean floor, 343 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 1: and once it was connected to the local telegraph stations, 344 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: it worked. On August eighteen fifty eight, the first telegraph 345 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 1: cable to cross the Atlantic was sent and it read 346 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: directors of Atlantic Telegraph Company, Great Britain to directors in America. 347 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:29,440 Speaker 1: Europe and America are united by telegraph, Glory to God 348 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,160 Speaker 1: in the highest on Earth, Peace and goodwill towards men. 349 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 1: And then that same message was relaid back across the 350 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,119 Speaker 1: Atlantic to confirm that the line was working in both directions. 351 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: Success for right now, we're going to revel in this 352 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: success for just a moment, and while we do, we're 353 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,360 Speaker 1: gonna have a quick word from one of our sponsors. 354 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: I made some really delicious um beef skewers the other 355 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: night for dinner. We had those. They were so good. 356 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: They were really good, and I love it because it's 357 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,639 Speaker 1: getting to be a thing where when we cook Blue Apron, 358 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:00,680 Speaker 1: I'm really doing the cooking, but Iron stands in the 359 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: kitchen and reads me news from his iPad, which is 360 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,400 Speaker 1: actually perfect. I get my news aggregated and we get 361 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,680 Speaker 1: a delicious meal. So over less than ten dollars per meal, 362 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:12,439 Speaker 1: YouTube can enjoy Blue Aprons delivered seasonal recipes along with 363 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 1: preportioned ingredients to make delicious home cooked meals. 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So 380 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,880 Speaker 1: check out this week's menu. Get your first three meals 381 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,680 Speaker 1: free with free shipping by going to blue apron dot 382 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: com slash history. For November, they have some beautiful stuff 383 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: lined up, including one that's like a spicy lotus root 384 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,399 Speaker 1: and purple carrot stir fry that I cannot wait to 385 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 1: get my hands on again. You're gonna love how good 386 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: it feels. How could it tastes? The incredible home cooked 387 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:25,280 Speaker 1: meals that you make with Blue Apron, So do not wait. 388 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: That is blue Apron dot com slash history blue Apron. 389 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: It's just a better way to cook. So after that 390 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,880 Speaker 1: initial success, Queen Victoria and President James Buchanan were then 391 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: able to trade messages on this newly laid line, and 392 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: the British Monarch cabled on August seventeenth the following message. 393 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: The Queen desires to congratulate the President upon the successful 394 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,160 Speaker 1: completion of this great international work in which the Queen 395 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,439 Speaker 1: has taken the greatest interest. The Queen is convinced that 396 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: the President will join her in fervently hoping that the 397 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,679 Speaker 1: electric cable which now connects Great Britain with the United States, 398 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,119 Speaker 1: will provide an additional link between the two nations, whose 399 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:11,200 Speaker 1: friendship is founded upon their common interest and reciprocal esteem. 400 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 1: The Queen has much pleasure in thus directly communicating with 401 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: the President and in renewing to him her best wishes 402 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:22,320 Speaker 1: for the prosperity of the United States. Buchanan replied, the 403 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 1: President cordially reciprocates the congratulations of her Majesty the Queen 404 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: on the success of this great international enterprise, accomplished by 405 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 1: the science, skill, and indomitable energy of the two countries. 406 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: It is a triumph more glorious because far more useful 407 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 1: to mankind than ever one by conqueror on the field 408 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: of battle. May the Atlantic Telegraph, under the blessing of Heaven, 409 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: proved to be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship 410 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 1: between the candred nations, and an instrument designed by Divine 411 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:55,119 Speaker 1: Providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world. 412 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 1: In this view, we will not all the nations of 413 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: Christendom Spontaneous slee Unite in the declaration that it shall 414 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: be forever neutral, and that it's communications shall be held 415 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: sacred in passing to the place of their destination, even 416 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: in the midst of hostilities. So you may have noticed 417 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:18,119 Speaker 1: these are wordy telegraphs WI their talkie talkie uh, and 418 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:21,240 Speaker 1: apparently they were quite vexing to the telegraph operators and 419 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,640 Speaker 1: because of the lengthy nature of these messages, they each 420 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 1: took more than seventeen hours to transmit. Don't talk so much, 421 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 1: you guys like a get it. You want to convey 422 00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:37,920 Speaker 1: a lot of stuff. Transmission received. Stop line works, stop. 423 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:44,080 Speaker 1: This is awesome. This excitement was really fleeting because the 424 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 1: line had problems almost immediately. There are two primary reasons 425 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:50,480 Speaker 1: that were discussed for the failure. One was that the 426 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: cable just was not strong enough and the initial messages 427 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: had been sent with too high voltage that taxi line, 428 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: so in addition to being so long, they were also damaging. 429 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:04,840 Speaker 1: As for the voltage, this was largely due to the 430 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: fact that operators on either side of the Atlantic, we're 431 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:09,720 Speaker 1: fiddling with the settings, trying to figure out how to 432 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,439 Speaker 1: optimize the signal, but neither knew what the person on 433 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,080 Speaker 1: the other end was doing. As for the weakness of 434 00:24:15,119 --> 00:24:17,240 Speaker 1: the cable, there were some claims that one of the 435 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: cable manufacturers had left a section of the cable outside 436 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: in the hot sun before it was delivered to the ships, 437 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,359 Speaker 1: and that some of the latex had melted and ruined 438 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 1: the insulation. Yeah, so it could also have been a 439 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: combination of those things. It could also have just been 440 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:39,320 Speaker 1: this is difficult. In my head, there's a little cartoon 441 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,439 Speaker 1: where like a crab or a lobster just walks up 442 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 1: and kind of nawse on it, and I know it's 443 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: made to not let that happen, but the cartoon is 444 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: very cute. I was thinking a shark because I've seen jaws. 445 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,880 Speaker 1: So the first transatlantic telegraph line was unfortunately completely dead 446 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 1: within just a few weeks. It finally went silent on 447 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 1: September eighteenth of eighteen fi d eight. But even with 448 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 1: that failure, some really impressive work had been done in 449 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,520 Speaker 1: the time that the cable was functional. Over the course 450 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 1: of those twenty three days, two hundred and seventy one 451 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 1: messages had been sent from Newfoundland, and one and twenty 452 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: nine messages had been sent from Ireland. Undaunted with this 453 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: at this point just unending list of setbacks, Cyrus Westfield 454 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:27,199 Speaker 1: decided to try again. I have to commend him. He 455 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 1: had to start the entire process from scratch, starting all 456 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: the way back at the stage of raising the money 457 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:36,520 Speaker 1: to fund the venture for a sixth try. It took 458 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: more than seven years to have another attempt ready, but 459 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty five they were ready to go, and 460 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,720 Speaker 1: this time it was a single ship, the Great Eastern, 461 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: out of Britain, that was chartered to lay the line 462 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,919 Speaker 1: so low. The Great Eastern was larger than all of 463 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:53,720 Speaker 1: the previous vessels that had been used to late telegraph line, 464 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,920 Speaker 1: and it started in Ireland and headed west toward North America. 465 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 1: So they're still planning on this same exact positioning, and 466 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:06,679 Speaker 1: at about the twelve hundred mile that's nineteen kilometers one 467 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 1: kilometer mark, it happened again the thing that keeps happening 468 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: in all of these field attempts. The cable snapped. So 469 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 1: at this point every effort was made to recover the 470 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: dropped end of the line, because at that point they're 471 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:19,920 Speaker 1: already more than halfway there. But eventually they had to 472 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: abandon it. For the time being. In the Great Eastern 473 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: returned to port. More cable had to be made before 474 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: another attempt could be mounted, but finally the Great Eastern 475 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: was loaded with enough cable across the ocean, as well 476 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 1: as additional cable to splice the lost end if it 477 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: could be found and complete the second line. Okay, brace 478 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,919 Speaker 1: because this eighteen sixty six voyage and laying of the 479 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:49,479 Speaker 1: line was shockingly smooth. It went just fine. The end 480 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 1: of the cable which connected Newfoundland to Ireland reached a 481 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 1: fishing village named Heart's Content on the North American coast 482 00:26:56,200 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: on July eighteen sixty six. At if I had been 483 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 1: the person at the helm of that ship, and also 484 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,440 Speaker 1: everyone else working on the entire thing, I would have 485 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,399 Speaker 1: been like, am I awake right now? I feel like 486 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: I would have held my breath for like a month 487 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: at a time. As the crown so this time, the 488 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,159 Speaker 1: first message to be sent was quote, a treaty of 489 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: peace has been signed between Austria and Prussia. It's a 490 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: whole lot shorter. Queen Victoria also sent a message to 491 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:31,399 Speaker 1: President Andrew Johnson saying the Queen congratulates the President on 492 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,160 Speaker 1: the successful completion of an undertaking which she hopes may 493 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,119 Speaker 1: serve as an additional bond of union between the United 494 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: States and England. So a lot more concise than previously. Yeah, 495 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: which is kind of funny because this line was a 496 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:46,800 Speaker 1: little bit better and stronger, and it probably could have 497 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,960 Speaker 1: handled those longer messages much more effectively, but lesson learned. 498 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 1: So this was the first permanent line across the ocean, 499 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,919 Speaker 1: and buoyed by the success of that first line, the 500 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: Great Eastern did head back to find the lost line 501 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: from its earlier mission, and they did manage to locate it, 502 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: even though it had sunk sixteen thousand feet it's about 503 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,919 Speaker 1: four thousand, eight hundred and seventy sevens to the ocean floor, 504 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:13,160 Speaker 1: and that line was grappled, pulled up, and it was spliced, 505 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 1: and a backup line was also successfully completed on September eight. 506 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:21,919 Speaker 1: Also amazing, the telegraph cable was made available to customers 507 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,360 Speaker 1: right away. But it was really uh service for the 508 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 1: incredibly wealthy to senday Transatlantic telegraph cost a dollar per letter, 509 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:34,959 Speaker 1: payable in gold. That would be a lot today dollar 510 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:39,600 Speaker 1: a letter. Uh So in eighteen sixty six, that was 511 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: an incredible amount of money. Yeah, that was like mind 512 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: blowing lee costly, But keep in mind that like part 513 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: of what was driving all of these attempts. One, it's 514 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: like this sort of human kind, like let's all communicate 515 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 1: with each other, global village ideal. But it was also 516 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 1: a business venture. So part of what gave them that tenacity, 517 00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 1: I think was that they were all in and they 518 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:00,960 Speaker 1: were like, if we have want to make money off 519 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:02,880 Speaker 1: this thing, if we ever want to make our money back, 520 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,440 Speaker 1: we got to finish it. Uh, and that's going to 521 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: be really expensive. But they did go into business and 522 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: did quite well. More undersea lines were laid in the 523 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 1: two decades following that first permanent cable, with an estimated 524 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: hundred and seven thousand miles that's a hundred seventy two 525 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: thousand kilometers of cable along the bottoms of the world's 526 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: oceans by the late eighteen eighties, so just twenty years later, 527 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:29,479 Speaker 1: it was everywhere. And the lifespan of those first two 528 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: cables was not especially long. I mean, it was a 529 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,239 Speaker 1: lot longer than that first successful attempt. One of them 530 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 1: failed in eighteen seventy two and the other in eighteen 531 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: seventy seven, so one lasted for six years and the 532 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 1: other for eleven. But by that point this failure was 533 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:45,760 Speaker 1: no longer an issue because there was a lot of 534 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: redundancy in the system by that point thanks to other 535 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: faster cables that were running along the same lines. So 536 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:58,320 Speaker 1: global communication network basically established. I mean, there were lots 537 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:00,360 Speaker 1: of other places that needed to be connect did, but 538 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,840 Speaker 1: there was no longer an ocean that needed to be crossed. Yeah, 539 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: I mean they were. They were connecting across oceans pretty 540 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 1: much all over the place, which is pretty amazing. Um 541 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 1: and those lines were used for a long time. It 542 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 1: really wasn't until you know, into the nine hundreds when 543 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: they were viable other options. So very cool, Tracy, I 544 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:24,200 Speaker 1: have a lot of listener mail and some of it 545 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: is delightful, So um brace because we got some really 546 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: good gifts. I'm gonna be frank their gifts that I 547 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:34,760 Speaker 1: will freak out about more than you, but they're really good. 548 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:37,080 Speaker 1: But the first I'm going to do a postcard, which 549 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,400 Speaker 1: is from our listener Valerie. She sent us a beautiful 550 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 1: postcard of the Pieta and she says, Dear Tracy and Holly, 551 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:44,480 Speaker 1: my husband and I are visiting Rome for the first 552 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:46,680 Speaker 1: time and we had an amazing visit to the St. 553 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 1: Peter's Basilica. Our tour guide told us a snippet about 554 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: the man who took a hammer to Michelangelo's Pieta, But 555 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 1: thanks to your podcast, I was able to share with 556 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:57,800 Speaker 1: my husband much much more about that incident. Thank you 557 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 1: so much, Valeries as beautiful. It's always like the key 558 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 1: to my heart is to send me an art postcard. 559 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: The next uh piece of mail I have to reach 560 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 1: across the table to get it. That we have is 561 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: from our listener, Jim, and it is very dear and 562 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: it's to me, so it says, dear Holly from your podcast. 563 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:17,840 Speaker 1: I know you're an ardent Victoria file as am I, 564 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 1: so you may already have this book, but I'm hoping not, 565 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 1: and that it's new to you. I love history and 566 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 1: I love family history. What better way to enjoy both 567 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 1: than to learn about Queen Victoria and her many descendants. 568 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: If you do have this book already, please just pass 569 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 1: it along. I'll renew my request for a podcast on 570 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,960 Speaker 1: Princess Louise. Uh. That's probably gonna happen before too long. 571 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: She was the daughter of Queen Victoria, and he says, 572 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: I so enjoy the podcast. You and Tracy do. Keep 573 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:45,320 Speaker 1: up the good work, Jim. And it's this beautiful book 574 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: about Queen Victoria's family in told through photographs, and it's 575 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 1: amazing and I did not already have it. I have 576 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 1: seen it before at the library, but I did not 577 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,280 Speaker 1: have a personal copy. So this is going to be 578 00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 1: very very treasured. Thank you so much, Jim. I can't 579 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 1: even tell you how much I love this. Uh and 580 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 1: your wish is probably gonna come true because that the 581 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 1: your topic is on my short list. Okay, our next 582 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: one is also amazing. Here's the downside. I cannot make 583 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 1: out the listener's name, but it came from France and 584 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 1: I am in love with it. So this reads, hello, ladies. 585 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:19,480 Speaker 1: I've been listening to your podcast for a few months now, 586 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:22,120 Speaker 1: first working my way through the archives and now being 587 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,280 Speaker 1: a subscriber. Wanting to thank you for many hours of 588 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:27,880 Speaker 1: enjoyment and knowing Holly is a vintage fashion lover, I 589 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: thought you might like these. It's not Victorian, I know, 590 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:33,320 Speaker 1: but close and don't you love the drawings. I'm also 591 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:35,880 Speaker 1: adding a couple of postcards from the Museum of Decorative Arts. 592 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: Thanks again and enjoy Oh my goodness. So Tracy, here's 593 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 1: what came in the mail. There are things you will 594 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 1: recognize because we saw them when we visited F I 595 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 1: T in New York and went to their archives. Original 596 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 1: copies of lamode Ilis play from n and nineteen o two. 597 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: That's amazing. So if anybody saw me sort of choked 598 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 1: up and weeping at my desk this morning, it was 599 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:01,560 Speaker 1: me opening this parcel. All my goodness, it's amazing. I 600 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 1: don't I'm almost scared to touch them. I don't want 601 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:07,400 Speaker 1: my oils from my fingers to degrade them. They're in 602 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,440 Speaker 1: quite good shape, but I want to look at everything, 603 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 1: and they're really really beautiful. Holy Moses. So I feel 604 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:15,840 Speaker 1: bad that I do not know your name to thank 605 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: you by name, but um, please feel free to shoot 606 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 1: us an email let me know what your name is 607 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 1: so I can thank you properly. And they're also, as 608 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:28,120 Speaker 1: as mentioned, two beautiful postcards. One is a gorgeous robe 609 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:31,280 Speaker 1: from the eighteen hundreds with the watchau pleats down the back, 610 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 1: and another is a gentleman's coat. Oh my goodness, so 611 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,760 Speaker 1: generous and so kind to all of our listeners. Those 612 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:42,000 Speaker 1: are some really amazing gifts to come into you this morning. 613 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:44,320 Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. 614 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:46,240 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 615 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:48,880 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at house to works dot com. 616 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,440 Speaker 1: You can also find us across the spectrum of social 617 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 1: media as at missed in History. So we're on Twitter 618 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 1: at misst in history, Facebook dot com, slash mist in History, 619 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,360 Speaker 1: pinterest dot com, slash mist in History, miss in history 620 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 1: dot tumbler dot com, and on Instagram at mt in history, 621 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:05,360 Speaker 1: where I will hopefully get my act together and have 622 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,040 Speaker 1: some decent pictures of these delightful gifts that have come 623 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 1: our way. Uh. If you would like to go to 624 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:13,480 Speaker 1: our parents site to do some research, you can do that. 625 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:16,000 Speaker 1: You can type in whatever your heart desires at how 626 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com in the search bar, and you're 627 00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: going to get a plethora of content to explore and enjoy. 628 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:23,880 Speaker 1: You can also visit me and Tracy at misst in 629 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,600 Speaker 1: history dot com, where we have a back catalog of 630 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:29,560 Speaker 1: every episode of the podcast ever of all time, as 631 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: well as show notes from the era that Tracy and 632 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:34,240 Speaker 1: I have been working on it and occasional other delights. 633 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 1: So please come and visit us at misston history dot 634 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:45,239 Speaker 1: com and how stuff works dot com for more on 635 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,760 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics because it how stuff 636 00:34:47,760 --> 00:35:00,760 Speaker 1: works dot Com