The First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable Was a Bold, Beautiful Failure
History of TechnologyArticlePast Forward
The First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable Was a Bold, Beautiful Failure
The Atlantic Telegraph Company’s 1858 failure set the stage for success just eight years later
31 Oct 2019
10 min read
Allison Marsh is a professor at the University of South Carolina and the codirector of the Ann Johnson Institute for Science, Technology & Society.
Photo: Division of Work & Industry/National Museum of American History/Smithsonian Institution